Alive and In Love
by Demac
Summary: This story is K plus, except for chapter nine, which is T.
1. The Beginnings

Jet lay on the floor, taking short and ragged breaths. The moment the door closed behind Katara, he let out a cry of pain and clutched his chest. Blood stained the cloth over his broken ribs. Smellerbee looked at him desperately, unable to do anything about it. He groaned and opened his eyes very wide. "I can't... I just... I just want it to... go away..." Longshot looked at his friend, his brown eyes filled with grief. Smellerbee's entire body seemed to fall apart; her heart felt like it was in her throat, her stomach felt like it was dragging on the floor, her body tingled with anger at the Dai Li agent...

"We can't... do anything for you... Jet..." Jet let out a scream of agony. Smellerbee fell to her knees beside him. "Jet..." He ripped open his shirt, showing a bloody mess. Where the earth had hit his chest, pieces of bones were sticking out from his chest, the blood from the gashes spilling out onto the ground. The wound was so deep, you could see where the broken ribs had hit his lung.. Longshot looked away for fear of puking or passing out.

Smellerbee looked around quickly, desperately, frantically. Out of pure fear, she tride to sew his chest. She pulled a thread from Jet's pants and a dart from her bag. Using the sharp end of the dart and firm string, she stitched up the hole in his chest. Then another. And another. And all the other holes the bones in his chest had left deep into his flesh. Before long, he was no longer bleeding, but he had to take short and quick breaths to keep from stretching the skin. Longshot peaked down, and couldn't handle the sight of all the drying blood. He quickly turned away, taking several steps in the other direction from the two Freedom Fighters.

Smellerbee closed her eyes, hoping to herself that Jet would live. The fear of him dying enveloped her whole body, causing her to tremble. She knew she had to act quickly; Smellerbee took the sleeves of her shirt off and dampened it with their drinking water. She gently washed the blood off. Jet grimaced, but did not cry out. Several hours later, Jet lay propped against a wall. He could now take full and large breaths, able to fill his lungs. He was healing miraculously fast, as though a spirit was guarding his life.

Longshot and Smellerbee were no where near Jet, whispering against a wall, away from the sleeping Freedom Fighter. Or, at least, Smellerbee was whispering and Longshot was staring meaningfully back. "It isn't clean down here," Smellerbee's whispered in a hushed voice. "And the Dai Li could be back any minute to kill us off." Longshot nodded, staring into her eyes gently. "Alright," she replied quietly. Longshot gave her a small smile, and a hug to comfort her saddened heart. He then walked slowly over to Jet, who was currently sleeping uncomfortably. He shook his shoulder gently, causing the boy to jerk awake. "Wha...?" Longshot smiled calmly as Smellerbee spoke, trying to console the injured boy. "We are going to take you up top, don't worry. You'll heal faster up there."

Jet smirked. "I can walk." Smellerbee shook her head, "Jet, shut up, we're carrying you." Jet, his usual egotistical self, glared at her. "I'm going to walk." She sighed, knowing there was nothing they could do to persuade the stubborn boy to let them carry him. Using the wall for support, he slowly got to his knees, grunting in pain the whole time. Finally, he collapsed against the wall. "Fine. Help." He said, anger controlling his voice.

Longshot held the majority of the body, but Smellerbee insisted stubbornly that she could help. Longshot shrugged and agreed, knowing that disagreeing would mean they had to stay in the base a long while longer.. They lifted Jet together; he grunted in pain, but did not want to seem weak. They left the underground base and slowly climbed the stairs up to the surface. After a long struggle of climbing, they reached the top, gasping for breath from the pain and lack of energy. They looked around at the beach before them nonchalantly, but saw no other people.

So, they lifted Jet up and carried him over the sand dune at the edge of the beach. It was a struggle; their feet slid in the sand, causing them to almost drop the injured Jet to the ground. At last, they reached the top without further injuring Jet. They stopped at the nearest cottage they saw, lay Jet softly on the sand, and knocked on the wooden door. They waited several seconds before a small boy peaked through the door, cracking it open only enough to see through it.. "Who are you?" Smellerbee looked at the little boy. "You the man of this house?" The boy said, "I asked first." He puffed his chest out, although he could not have been more then eight.

Smellerbee sighed in annoyance. "I'm Smellerbee, this is Jet, and that's Longshot. Now go get your guardian." The boy glared at her. "I don't like you much." "I could care less," Smellerbee mumbled when the boy scurried off crying 'Mammi.' A few moments later, a tall and malnourished woman appeared at the door her face wrinkled with experience. She had wiry silver hair that seemed to stick out in all directions. Her face was so wrinkled, Smellerbee wondered how it held together in one piece.

Ignoring the way the woman looked, Smellerbee said calmly, "My friend here is injured from the Dai Li, and desperately needs help." The woman opened her door very wide. She whispered almost inaudibly. "An enemy of the Dai Li is a friend of mine. Please come in." Once more, Jet was lifted up and carried into the house. The elderly woman motioned towards a bed of hay with a sheet over it and Longshot set him gently down, Smellerbee also lowering her half.

The woman pulled a pot of tea off of a fire and poured it into a clay cup. She then stirred a gray liquid into it and gave it to Jet. "Drink up." she poured her and the two other Freedom Fighters cups and then sat down. Smellerbee immediately questioned the woman. "Why do you hate the Dai Li? Who are you? What did you put in Jet's tea? What are-" The woman chuckled lightly. "Oh, my dear, too many questions." Smellerbee sighed in frustration, only wishing to protect themselves. "Who are you, then?"

The woman smiled serenely. "This is my adopted son, Jethro," he climbed into her lap, "and I am Kilo the Great Healer. Or... I used to be." Smellerbee looked confused. "Used to be?" The woman nodded solemnly. "Yes. In my younger days I traveled the world healing the great leaders. When the war began, the leaders divided, and I was no longer permitted to any of the palaces." Jet looked confused, almost befuddled. "The war started almost 100 years ago. How old are you?" The woman grinned happily. "192 years old."

Smellerbee glared suspiciously, still harboring a premature hatred for the old woman. "How?" Kilo smiled. "I used my herbs. Now it's my turn for a few questions. Who are you all?" Smellerbee said hesitantly, "That's Jet, this is Longshot, and I'm Smellerbee." "Those are odd names," Kilo commented. Jet shrugged. "I was named after my grandfather." Smellerbee looked distant suddenly, as though lost in thought, "Smellerbee is what my mother used to call me." Kilo nodded. "And what is your birth name?" She shrugged. "I don't actually know."

The woman turned to the final Freedom Fighter. "And you." Longshot nodded to Smellerbee, who replied for him. "He's Longshot. Jet nick-named him for his archery." Kilo nodded. "It is nice to meet you all."

Smellerbee looked at the woman skeptically, as though despite her perky personality Smellerbee still thought she was a homicidal maniac. "I apologize... You seem like a very nice woman, but how do I know we can trust you?" Kilo paused. "How do I know I can trust you?" Jet grinned and replied, "Touche." Kilo took a sip of her tea, smiling sweetly. "You all can stay for the night. No funny business, or I'll make you leave, understood?" Her sweet voice was suddenly firm. Smellerbee nodded. "Yeah."

That night, Jet fell asleep quickly, his wounds taking his energy like a black hole sucking in everything around it, even light. The moment his snores began, Longshot and Smellerbee lit a candle. It was obvious by Jethro and Kilo's fragility that they did not have enough food to go around, so they climbed from the small window, and darted down the street to the market they had spotted. It was dark, and the food was all wrapped into bags and locked beneath the stalls. Smellerbee plucked a dart from her pocket and twisted the locks. They sprung open silently. Longshot reached in and pulled 2 bags out, slinging them over his shoulders. Smellerbee did likewise. They sneaked back to the house and set the bags silently on the tables.

Longshot wrote a quick note in his unpracticed handwriting.

__

Frum the spirt, paintd ladee

Smellerbee looked at the paper in envy. She couldn't read or write. "What does it say?" She asked quietly. He gave her a hug, but did not answer. The two teens sneaked back to the guest rooms and lay back down, quickly falling asleep. Earlier that day they had silently agreed that they would help this family out, for they so obviously required the assistance of someone.

If Jet had lived, one more Earth Nation family would have food again.

* * *

_Author's Note: The new and revised First Chapter._


	2. Oh Spirit of Love Help Me

When Jet awoke the next morning, his sides were aching and his shoulders were sore. His head was pounding with a migraine as well. He looked down at his blood stained shirt. _Perhaps I should've taken it off last night..._It was ripped in the front from when Smellerbee had given his chest stitches, but as he had slept, the cloth had glued itself to the dried blood. He tried to slowly peel the tunic from his ribs, but the pain was excruciating. At long last, he picked up an empty cup of tea from his bedside table and threw it at Longshot. The silent archer awoke with a start, pulling a knife from under his pillow, ready to strike the person who had attacked him. Jet snickered. "Paranoid much?"

Longshot shrugged slightly. Jet caught the hidden meaning, better safe then DEAD. The Freedom Fighter leader frowned. "Could you go get the medicine lady?" Longshot nodded and stood, leaving the room. The blankets he had kicked off in the night were strewn across the floor. What had Longshot been dreaming about?

XxXxX

Longshot stepped into the hallway and took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling slowly. He heard a slight giggling from the kitchen; he assumed that was where Kilo and possibly Jethro were. Sure enough, upon entering the kitchen, he spotted Kilo gently tickling Jethro's stomach, the boy wriggling beneath her frail fingers. When Longshot entered the room, Jethro looked up at him. The young boy looked suddenly bored and preoccupied, as though trying to impress the archer with his blase attitude. "Gran Kilo, that's enough, I'm too old for your childish games." Kilo put on a face of seriousness, but her eyes were laughing hysterically.

"Oh, I apologize, sir." Jethro stood, brushing off his shirt, as though any dust was unacceptable. He cleared his throat and replied in a very deep and fake voice, "I'm going to attend to some manly issues at Kifu's house." He left the room quickly, causing Kilo to grin, the wrinkles on her face deepening. "The boy is intrigued by your silent aura." Longshot shrugged. The elderly woman set a plate of hot bread onto the table with cold berries poured atop. She looked at Longshot seriously. "This morning I found four large sacks of food on my table, and the local market is fretting about them being stolen. I had to hide them... You wouldn't know anything about this would you?"

Longshot shook his head seriously, as though he knew nothing about it. Kilo gave him a suspicious look, like she knew something. "Alright." She set down another plate of hot bread and berries, changing the subject to avoid awkwardness. "Why do you never speak? I have not yet heard you say one word the entire time you have been here." Longshot hesitated before replying in his thick and deep voice. "The tongue is the hardest part of the body too control. People can be hurt or even killed by merely a word." Kilo grinned genuinely. "Wisely said."

The archer was surprised at how easy it was to open up to this woman. It felt as though he met her before, as though she held some part of him that he could explain. Kilo continued gently, "Longshot, is it?" He nodded, snapping from his De Ja Vu. "Is that your birth name?" He hesitated once more. He wanted to say something, to speak to her, but he did not want the wrong thing to be said. At long last, he replied softly. "I have never told anyone my real name." An odd feeling came over him; he had not spoken this much in years, but it felt good to express the way he felt with words instead of meaningful glances.

Kilo nodded. "I see. Why not?" He looked away, his words coming out slowly. "It brings up too many memories, I guess." She nodded. "I understand." Longshot took a bite of his food and then stood up. "Jet asked me to get you. I think he needed your help or something." Kilo stood slowly, her bones aching from old age. "I'm coming." Longshot helped her stand; they then walked back to the bedroom, where Jet was sitting up, slowly trying to pry the shirt from his chest. Smellerbee snored loudly in the corner, clearly still asleep.

Jet stopped pulling the tunic from his bloody wounds and looked up at the woman. "I can't get my shirt off," he said, quite embarrassed that he required help from an old woman just to take his shirt off. Kilo chuckled lightly. "Alright. I'll be back with a pain reliever." She waddled from the room, leaving Longshot to sit silently on his mat. Jet looked over at him calmly. "I think we should leave soon. Soon as in the next few days." Longshot looked up at him, confused. He shrugged and replied to the archer's silence. "I think our stay here is long over due. There has been soldiers stalking the streets for days. If they find out that Kilo is hiding a delinquent and his partners in crime out in the fields of Ba Sing Se, we could get killed." Longshot hesitated before nodding slowly. "Glad you see it my way," Jet said calmly, but also mischievously.

XxXxX

Later that day, Kilo had chicken soup laying out on the tables in bowls of pottery. "Eat up," Kilo said meaningfully. "The painted lady has blessed us." Smellerbee stole a glance at Longshot, who smiled back before eating his lunch. Kilo eyed Smellerbee suspiciously. The young tomboy tried to ignore her stares, instead eating her food. Although she had attempted, the stares were very hard to ignore. Smellerbee finally stood. "I'm gonna go eat outside..." Kilo stood as well. Suddenly, she seemed much larger and more intimidating then before.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She said softly, her eyes seeming to see straight through Smellerbee. "Soldiers are practically swarming the outside of this house. For some reason I can't explain, they think that this 'Painted Lady' is in this house." She paused purposefully. "Smellerbee... Is there something you'd like to say?" The young girl looked straight at Kilo defiantly. "No." Kilo smiled sweetly. "Well, perhaps at a later time." She sat down, scooting the chair back beneath the table calmly.

Smellerbee did not sit down, but instead set her bowl loudly onto the table and stalked off to her room, slamming the door behind her. Kilo and and Jet frowned simutaniously. "Longshot, you should go with her." Longshot immediately stood and walked off to the guest room. Jet sighed in frustration. "I can't believe this." Kilo smiled sweetly. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Jet looked at the woman oddly, but she genuinely seemed to have no idea.

At long last, Jet continued eating his soup.

XxXxX

Longshot opened the door silently, and shut it slowly in order to make no sound. Smellerbee didn't hear him enter, and therefore didn't look up from her pillow where her head was buried. She was laying on her stomach, face down, and her body slowly rose and fell with her gentle breaths. Longshot lay down beside her; the movement of the bed caused her to look up. "What?" She said roughly. Longshot shrugged, his silence seeming to mean something like it always did. Smellerbee sighed in response to his lack of speech. "I hate that woman. I mean, we were trying to help her... And how come she got mad at me but not you?"

Longshot gave her a look that said, "Painted LADY, I'm a man." Smellerbee nodded slowly. "I guess." She scooted closer to Longshot, burying her head into his chest. He smiled to himself as he held her closely. The familiar and secretive rush of love for this girl filled him once more. He pressed his cheek against her hair, taking a deep breath. Her hair smelled of fire, as though she had spent too much time sitting beside a warm campsite at night.

They lay there for several minutes, until Jet walked in. "Woah, don't get pregnant from too much hair sniffing!" He laughed loudly at the surprised looks on their faces. "I'm only joking, you can continue sniffing if you want." Inside, he was not laughing, he was furious that Longshot would make a move on Smellerbee. Longshot knew Jet liked her; Well, okay, he didn't know, but he should be able to figure that out!

Jet sat down on his bed as Longshot and Smellerbee seperated. The bed creaked under his weight. Longshot could still smell the wonderful aroma of her hair as he stood up and walked to her bed on the other side of the room. Jet smiled at Smellerbee and rubbed his sore ribs, wincing at the shock of pain that screamed through his body. "Everything okay?" She nodded calmly, but her voice seemed strained, as though there was anger behind her voice. "Yeah, fine." He nodded slowly. "We are leaving soon, you know." Smellerbee nodded slowly, as though imitating him. "I figured."

Jet sat there awkwardly as Smellerbee and Longshot seemed to stare at each other with a silent conversation floating between there eyes. Suddenly, Smellerbee stood up. "I have to go. I promised Jethro I would teach him how to use a sword." Longshot nodded slowly. Jet did as well. "Have fun." he said sarcastically. Longshot looked at him for a long moment before Jet spoke again, the door closing softly behind Smellerbee. "You like her, don't you?" Longshot shrugged.

Jet stood painfully, staring him down. "You better not make another move like that. I like her too." He stalked from the room. Longshot sighed; he didn't feel threatened.

Only challenged.

If Jet had passed away in the Dai Li's base, Longshot would already be married to Smellerbee. But Jet had lived, and now Longshot would have to win Smellerbee's heart a different way. It's odd how the fate of one Freedom Fighter could change the course of so many lives.

* * *

_Author's Note: The new and revised second chapter._


	3. Lost and Found

Jet walked around aimlessly for hours on end, barely seeing where he was going. He did have anger issues, but never had he gotten frustrated at Longshot. As the last rays of sunlight glowed being a mask of pink and orange clouds, Jet realized he was completely lost inside a labrynth of houses. The rows of houses were like little toy soldiers all lined up. He looked down the long street, dirty and worn down from the feet of poor merchants on the once beautiful stones. Down the street from Jet was a piece of hope: a fair lady about his age with brown hair and dull brown eyes. She had a clay watering bucket in her hand, and was slowly pouring the water within onto beautiful orange flowers. Jet knew not of these flower's name, but just the sight of their encouraging orange seemed to make him happier.

The girl looked up and noticed him staring. She blushed, and looked slightly guilty, as though she was doing something wrong. Jet walked up to her, trying his hardest to ignore the stabbing pain on his sides from walking around pointlessly for so long. "Hello," he said with a crooked grin. Her blush lingered on her high cheek bones as she replied softly, "Good evening." Jet nodded shortly. "Any particular reason you are outside after dark?" The girl shrugged, her blush slowly fading away in her fair skin. "Nah. I just finished cooking dinner and thought I'd come visit the garden." Jet laughed lightly before looking up at the darkening sky. "Well, miss, may I inquire your name?" The girl smiled sweetly. "Jin." He gave her another crooked smile. "I'm Jet. Any way you could help me get home?"

The girl laughed, her giggle like a song in the darkening air. "Are you visiting this town or something?" Jet laughed along with her. "Yeah, you could say that." She pointed down the street. "If walk all the way to the end, and go to your right, the streets are in alphabetical order. What is the name of the street you're going to?" Jet bit his lip before replying. "I have no idea." Jin giggled. "Alright... do you know what it looks like?" Jet shrugged. "Kind of a grayish... brownish... blueish... yellowish... pink?" Jin giggled once more, her eyes glittering from the laughter. Jet gave her another crooked smile and continued. "I know that the front door is a bright red that says 'Yortu hagge juhi tal'." Jin sighed.

"That doesn't help much. A lot of people have that on their doors." She pointed to the door in the front of her house, where a matching phrase splattered itself upon the dull brown door. "What is the name of the homeowner?" Jet probed his mind. Kylee? Kendall? Kiju? He was ready to give up when the name suddenly popped into his head. "Kilo. She used to be a healer." Jin's eyes lit up. "Why didn't you just say so?" Jet shrugged, and gave her yet another crooked smile of his. Usually, he did not grant his incapicating grin to any girl, but he was tired and sore and wanted only to return home.

She set down her dull clay watering bucket and linked arms with him. "She doesn't live too far from here." Jet nodded. "Oh good, my sides are aching real bad. I've been walking ever since lunch." Jin looked up at him with a small grin. "Why so long?" Jet laughed. "I don't know, I just started walking aimlessly and then got lost, I guess." Jin thought it over for a moment. "I guess it is very easy to get lost in all these identical huts out here." Jet shrugged slightly and then smiled. "Either that or I'm just really stupid." Jin giggled as they walked down the street. "You're not stupid... just incredibly..." Jet put his hand in front of her face. "You wanna finish that?" Jin laughed softly. "No sir!" she put her hand to her forehead in mock salute.

Jet and Jin laughed together. Why didn't he hang out with people who laughed like this all the time? Longshot rarely laughed, and Smellerbee was always too serious. There was a brief quiet before Jin turned right and began to speak again. "Have you been here long?" Jet shook his head. "Only one night." She smiled gently. "That would explain why you didn't know the street name." He nodded lightly. "Yeah, it would." They continued their conversations, jokes, and laughter for a minute or two, until Jin stopped walking. "Here we are."

She smiled sweetly up at him as their arms, linked together at the elbow, fell to their sides. "Thanks." He gave her another crooked smile. She stood on her tip toes and gave him a brief hug before turning her back and beginning to walk away. She stopped after a few steps and looked over her shoulder. "See you later?" He thought for a brief moment. He enjoyed her laughter too much to deny himself of this gift. "Yeah." He gave her one more free smile, tilted slightly to one side. "See you soon." He walked inside, gently shutting the door behind him.

"Where have you been?" Kilo asked curiously. Suddenly, Jet's angry came flowing back into his mind, filling his every thought. "None of your business," he snapped. He stalked off to his room, but once the door clicked shut behind him and he lie down, his thoughts of hatred floating away into the crisp night air. They were instead filled with thoughts of who he liked; Katara thought he was dead and Smellerbee liked Longshot... But what about Jin? She seemed very nice. He had only just met her, but he wouldn't mind a few more days with her.

He called into the darkness softly, "Smellerbee? Longshot?" The blanket of night time seemed to reply. "Yeah?" Jet could only assume Longshot was listening, for his silence wasn't enough to determine whether or not he was awake. "What do you say we stay just a little while longer?" Smellerbee's voice replied quietly. "I'd like that." Longshot merely made a soft shuffle on his mat, keeping his silence.

Jet mumbled to himself in his final moments of awareness, "I'd like that too..." Slowly, his eyes closed against the night's blackness around him.

* * *

The next morning, Kilo had breakfast out on the table for the three Freedom Fighters. They ate it quickly, the food filling their empty stomachs. At last, Kilo sat down between Longshot and Jethro. "Good news." She grinned, the edges of her eyes wrinkling. Smellerbee looked up. "What is it?" The old healer replied gently, "My old friend, Hon, has saved us seats at the Earthbender's Match today." Jethro purely squeeled with delight. Longshot grinned at the outburst, but Jet only grew more annoyed at the two. Smellerbee did not react, but instead replied, "When is it?" Kilo brushed a strand of silver hair from her crinkly old eyes. "In about an hour. Would you three care to join us?"

Smellerbee and Longshot agreed. Jet did too, but the nod was hesitant and harbored. Kilo seemed not to notice, or not to care. "Alright, then we'll go." The trio changed their clothes and met in the small kitchen once more. Jet sat down on a stool and sighed happily to himself. Smellerbee scanned his face for emotion. "You seem awful... joyful today." Jet shrugged, his grin lopsided. "I guess I'm just happy." Smellerbee seemed skeptical, but did not push the issue as Kilo stepped into the room with Jethro at her heels. "If we leave now, we should get there with plenty of time to spare." Longshot opened and held the door open for the group, cheerful ray of sunlight.

They walked gaily towards the arena with smiles all their faces, talking (or listening silently in Longshot's case) about the Earthbender's Match. Jethro seemed to know alot about the fights, although he had never even watched an Earthbender before. "And when Earthbender's get mad, they grow two heads!" gushed the boy. Jet grinned and went along with Jethro's tall tales. The boy obviously wanted to impress the troop. "Really?" He said happily. "Oh yeah," the boy bulldozed on. "When they get hit with rocks, they will double in size and make wild Earthquake's. Last year, the whole entire crowd died!" Smellerbee laughed. "Really? That's aweso-" "And. guess. what. else." The boy looked seriously at Jet.

"What?" Jet leaned in, a facade of curiousity consuming his face. "Earthbender's own unicorns." The boy rolled his eyes, as though this was a fact everyone knew. "Oh yeah. And they ride them into the arena with dragons flying around their heads and magical sparkles sprinkling around them." The boy wiggled his fingers, imitating the fall of glittering sparkles. Jet oohed and aahed at all of the boy's stories, although he didn't believe any of them.

If only Jet had lived...

* * *

_Author's Note: The new and revised third chapter_


	4. Earth Rumble VII

Jet looked up at the doors leading into the Dueling Arena; they were made of a beautiful marble, with intricate engravings carved or perhaps bended into it. Thousands of minuscule swirls made up a beautiful sunflower, only a fraction of the design. At the foot of the ornate door stood a man clad in a long green robe with a tan vest over it. He was taking small pieces of parchment from the civilians walking into the arena. Following the example set by those entering before them, Kilo and the travelers handed the man their tickets.

He smiled at them, and repeated what he had mumbled to each of the passing people. "Enter to the right, down the stairs, don't sit in the bottom rows." Jet looked at the man closely; he had several teeth that had fallen out, and only a few left. They were yellowing and loose, as though ready to fall out at any moment. His brown hair was slicked back with natural grease, his eyes a light brown. Kilo led the group, including Jethro, to the right and down the stairs. This entrance was not as decorated as the main entrance, but still had a design on it. Jet climbed the stairs 10 rows up; no one was in the rows before them, so they assumed there must have been a reason.

They sat down, large cups of Rabbit-goat milk in jugs at their sides. Suddenly, the low rumble of thousands of voices in the arena erupted into massive cheers that echoed in the large arena. Smellerbee joined in, her voice screeching above many others. Jet stayed silent, merely clapping. Longshot just stood there, his hands laying awkwardly at his sides, as though he didn't quite know what to do with them. Jethro was squealing and clapping, stomping his feet on the ground of Kilo's heels. The old healer merely grinned, Jethro's cheering enough for them both.

The cause for their spontaneous outburst was soon revealed; A man had entered the arena. He was clad in fancy robes and several belts, a hat resting on his silky gray hair. "Spectators!" the crowd screamed as loud as they could, their voices still not enough to overpower the Ringmaster's, whose voice was carried by the rounded ceiling and echoed to every inch of the arena. "Welcome to the Earth Rumble VII!" The announcement only caused more screaming amidst the audience.

"I am your host!" cried the man loudly. "Xin Fu!" The cheering refused to quiet, and only continued at a steady thunder-like rumble that shook the air. "The rules are simple," he continued. "Just know the other guy out of the ring, and you win!" He turned and used his Earthbending to leap up to the high pedestal. He turned back towards the screaming crowd. "Round one! RhinoMan versus the Pebble!" The crowd's cheers grew to a deafening volume as a large man with no shirt on came sprinting into the arena. He bended a wall of stone before him; not slowing his run, he slammed into the wall head-first, causing the stone to shatter. The crowd roared with approval.

Not long after the crunch of the stone reverberated through the arena, a small boy with Earth Kingdom clothing on came stomping into the arena. With every step, a stone was thrown into the air, landing right outside the arena. The spectators cried out their excitement. Jethro was screaming, his feet stomping onto the stone seat as hard as they could. Smellerbee whooped loudly, her fists pumping into the air. Longshot's arms swung back and forth by his sides awkwardly. Jet stood beside Longshot, his fingers rubbing the sides of his Hook Swords, which rested in their sheathes.

The small boy, 'The Pebble', pointed a finger at his large opponent. "You may be large, but you are all talk. You have no real skill." RhinoMan flexed his muscles to the audience, consequently earning a loud roar of praise. "I'm gonna crush you like the ant you are!" The Pebble grinned. "Bring it." Suddenly, in an explosion of dust and dirt, rocks were hovering above The Pebble. Not a second later, the massive stones were hurling themselves at RhinoMan. He stuck his head out, colliding with the flying stones.

Another crunch of rock hitting bone sounded. The boulders shattered against his strength, but he did not retaliate fast enough. Already four more stones were zooming towards him. His fists barely met the stone in time, resulting in another shattering rock. Unfortunately for RhinoMan, The Pebble's third wave of boulders came too quickly, knocking straight into his chest. He flew backwards, his feet touching the edge of the arena. The Pebble smirked, throwing his right hand towards the sky. Imitated his motion, a small pebble flew up and hit RhinoMan in the jaw, causing him to fall backwards out of the Arena.

This victory resulted in thunderous cheering. The boy turned to the audience, his fist pumping the air. Jethro's face was turning red from his maniacal screaming; Jet and Longshot were sitting down as though the Match held no interest. Smellerbee cheered, but Kilo just stood there smiling, running an aged hand through Jethro's hair. The host, Xin Fu, shouted almost inaudibly, "The Pebble has won!" The small boy screamed to the crowd. "I can win this!!" The crowd echoed his screams.

"In the next match," The host continued. "The Pebble versus..." He paused for dramatic effect. "Whale Woman!" The cheers were limited, nothing compared to the praise RhinoMan had received. Despite the quieter audience, a very large woman walked into the arena, a large belly jiggling over the small waistline of a skirt that reached the ground. Her matching green tunic did not reach her protruding stomach. "Whale woman crush you!" she screamed, her voice shaking from the volume at which she spoke. With the signal from Xin Fu, the battle began.

The moment Xin Fu's hand reached his side once more, Whale Woman charged towards The Pebble, screaming like a mad woman. The Pebble, panicking at the thought of being crushed by the large woman, began to throw as many rocks at her as he could. She merely threw her stomach into it, causing them to bounce back at him. The stone hit him square in the chest, throwing him from the arena. Cheers erupted once more at the quick victory.

Suddenly, from up against the ceiling, Earth-benders closed the sky-windows with stone. The only light was the large crystal chandelier on the ceiling, shining down on Xin Fu. "Now, the moment you've all been waiting for..." The spectators, for the first time during the whole tournament, hushed into near silence. "Whale woman versus... The Royal Rumbler!" Jet stood to get a better view of the two competitors as the sky lights opened back up; The Whale Woman stood stomping the ground, the Earth shaking beneath her feet. But on the peripheral of the arena, a teenage boy entered onto the floor slowly. His hands hovered in the air before him, before rising and falling slowly. The ground beneath him mimicked his arm motion; the crowd felt obliged to imitate it as well, doing the wave all across the arena while screaming.

He smirked at his competitor, who replied with a roaring yell. The Royal Rumbler stepped into the arena, taking a few deep breaths as the spectator's wave died down. Xin Fu grinned as well. "Let the round begin!" With the signal of his dropped hand, The Royal Rumbler slid his foot across the ground, his hand mimicking the motion, hovering above his leg. Thousands of shards of earth followed his hand, launching themselves towards the woman's face. She pulled her hand up towards the ceiling, a wall of stone following. The shards did not break to pieces when they hit the wall; instead, The Royal Rumbler put two fists out before him, and then twisted them palm up.

The shards obliged, drill themselves into the wall of Earth. They nearly hit Whale Woman, when she bended a suit of stone around her. The moment she finished her move, The Royal Rumbler dove towards her, slinging his right leg into her stomach. The stone crunched beneath the force; Whale woman stumbled backwards. When the Royal Rumbler's foot touched the ground again, he punched the air before him; he then slid his foot forward. Five small square blocks raised from the floor, shoving Whale Woman backwards even more. A few more feet and...

The Royal Rumbler smirked. He watched her tumbling backwards and timed it perfectly. Right before her left foot touched the Earth, the teenage boy shoved his hands toward the sky. The Earth copied him, shoving Whale Woman out of the Arena.

The spectators went ballistic, absolutely hysterical. Xin Fu leaped from his pedestal, landing softly beside the Royal Rumbler; the boy was smirking towards the audience, his eyes dancing. Xin Fu held up a bag of coins. "By traditional," cried the Ringmaster, "I am offering up this large sack of gold coins to anyone who can defeat the Royal Rumbler!"

No one in the crowd spoke up in challenge; Xin Fu's happy expression fell. "What? No one dares to face him?" The crowd seemed to go silent. "I will revise my offer," the man added. "To any two boys who can beat the Royal Rumbler will receive this bag of coins!" Jet leaned behind Kilo and poked Longshot in the shoulder. "Let's do it, man!" Longshot shook his head, but Jet cried out, "We will!" Longshot groaned in frustration. Xin Fu, contrary to Longshot, gave a large and satisfied grin. "Come on down!"

Jet and Longshot, hesitantly, climbed down the stairs and onto the Dueling Floor. The Royal Rumbler smirked. "Can you even bend?" Jet shrugged. "No." The crowd all laughed simutaneously. The Royal Rumbler took his stand and smirked once more. "Then let the battle begin." Longshot walked back several feet and pulled out his bow and arrow. Suddenly, Xin Fu cried, "No deaths!" Jet smirked, taking his own stance. "Trust me, there won't be any deaths."

At Xin Fu's signal, Jet was twirling around the Royal Rumbler, his swords swinging and lashing out at every turn. The competitor deflected each swing with a stone, soon yawning sarcastically. Suddenly, he found himself pinned against the wall on the outside of the arena. "Wha..." The crowd went silent, but after a moment exploded with praise. The Royal Rumbler's robes were stuck to the wall by three arrows. Longshot grinned at Jet, who smirked back. How had they pulled that off?

Xin Fu pulled the two boys up, lifting their hands into the air in praise. Trumpets announced their victory, the crowd screaming their delight. Longshot accepted the Champion's belt, but Jet greedily snatched the large bag of coins. Smellerbee, Kilo, and Jethro came rushing out onto the floor to congratulate them. The Royal Rumbler smirked, smacking his hand onto the wall he was pinned to. The Earth jumped out, causing him to fly back onto the Arena's Dueling Floor. He casually walked up to Jet and Longshot. Instead of growing angry, his smirk hovered on his lips.

"Congrats," he said calmly. "A bag of coins and a belt." Jet smirked. "And the satisfaction of seeing you hanging on a wall." The boy laughed. "At least my robes didn't fall off." Longshot grinned, as did Jet. Kilo butted in, "Good job, gentlemen, the battles were excellent. I congratulate all three of you." She looked at the Royal Rumbler and added, "Would you care to join us for lunch?"

The boy looked up at the spectators and smirked. "Anything for free food," he said jokingly. Jethro suddenly attacked the boy's leg with a hug. "I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN!"

XxXxX

On the way home, Jethro smothered the teenage boys with questions about the Match. Most of the questions were ignored as the men tried to carry their own conversations; but, in the flurry of words from everyone, not much could be understood. By the time they had reached the small hut, not much had been learned. On the bright side, they now knew the boy's real name was Hun, that he was sixteen, had been Earth bending since he was eight, and born in Ba Sing Se. They learned alot about the Earth-Bending Tournament as well.

Each year, the tournament was held in one of four Arenas. One was in Ba Sing Se; that was where it had been held when Jet went. The year before it had been in Gaoling, and before that in Omashu. Even before that was on Kyoshi Island. Hun had been in none of them but the last one, where it had been decided he would be the final and most decisive contestant; his vitory or failure determined the champion.

If Jet had died, he would not have met Hun.


	5. Group Therapy

**Author's Note: This is an important note from the desk of the author of this story: This chapter is not mine, but me PARAPHRASING Book 2 Chapter 17, Lake Laogai. I do not take credit for much of this chapter, especially the dialogue, word for word from the episode.  
ALL CREDIT GOES TO NICKELODEON AND THE CREATORS OF AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER.**

* * *

Kilo looked up from the simmering pot to a sleeping Jethro. The small boy's head leaned against the wall, his stomach growling even in his deep sleep. Smellerbee, whom Kilo thought was too manly for her own good, sniffed the air, as though hoping the smell of the roast beef would fill her empty stomach. Longshot, whom Kilo thought was sweet when he actually talked, sat calmly in a chair beside her, looking at her as though evaluating. Jet was talking to Hun, two boys who needed a major attitude check.

The old woman grinned at the collection of children that rested in her home. She would've been a good mother, had her husband not died in the war. She stirred the beef once more before putting them into bowls. For some reason she could not explain, she put extra beef-soup in the bowl for Longshot.

When she laid out the bowls and served the drinks, she pulled out her chair, and finally sat to enjoy her own meal. "So Hun, did you travel here or do you live in Ba Sing Se?" Hun shrugged. "I don't really live anywhere. I travel the world challenging Earthbenders from all over." Kilo nodded. "Sounds like an interesting life." "It is," he replied with a smile. "I get around, hear lots of gossip and talk, improve my skills." Jet suddenly grew serious. "You hear alot of gossip?" Hun shrugged. "Yeah, why do you ask?" Jet frowned. "Do you know of Zuko, the Fire Prince?" Jet nodded. "Of course. I hear loads about him. How he gave his crown to his uncle, how he visits his sister and father in prison, how he got a new girlfriend, even how he-" Jet quickly interrupted, "Was his girlfriend a waterbender?"

Hun thought a moment. "Yeah, I thought I heard that. It's been a few weeks, but I think so." Jet's usually firm composure fell. "Katara," he said softly.

Kilo looked at him with gentle eyes. "I can tell there is a story behind her name. Would you like to tell us what happened?" Jet shrugged. "If you want to know-" "Which we do," Hun interrupted with a smirk. Jet sighed. "Of course you do. A while back, during the fall, I was just up in our tree house like always-" "Tree house?" Hun interrupted with a snicker. "You pway in tweehouse?" He said in a baby's voice.

"No," Smellerbee said roughly. "We lived in it. It was almost 50 feet long, and their was about 20 of us living there, in and out, off and on. Like a Time Share." Hun nodded slowly as Jet continued. "Well, our group was preparing to attack a Fire Nation village, and as we looked down upon them, a group of teenagers just walked straight into the camp. It was pretty ironic, so we just watched for a minute. The Fire Nation soldiers jumped at them and threw fire. One of the guys that had walked into the camp got his arm caught on fire.

"Then Smellerbee shot a sleeping dart into the soldier that was mocking the teens. He fell forward, and the Avatar thought his friend had killed him. Not wanting the stupid Water Tribe boy to get the credit of course, I jumped from the tree and we had some huge battle thing. Then, as I brought a guy to the ground, I almost crashed into the most beautiful girl I had ever met. Her eyes were like the ocean, and-" Hun coughed. "OK, yeah, she's hot, continue." Jet smirked. "So we introduced ourselves and started to take stuff from the camp.

"And then the most amazing thing happened. She came to ME and started to talk to me. When I invited them to the hideout, she seemed to eager to go, that I couldn't help but smile. When we got there, by some natural instinct, I took her hand and pulled her really close and we rode up to the Tree House. That was probably the best thing I could've done. She fell head over heels for me."

Smellerbee added, "Not completely." Jet scowled. "Let me finish the story." Smellerbee grinned, but did not reply. "When I told her about our goal to eventually rid the nearby city of Fire Nation soldiers, she seemed to think I was the bravest man in the world." Smellerbee snickered, "Man? Your voice still squeaks." Instead of Jet, Hun scowled. "Let him finish the story!" Jet, surprised by his interest in the tale, continued swiftly. "We seemed to click so perfectly, it was like love at first sight. At dinner that night, celebrating our victory with all the Freedom Fighters, I began to have doubts, though. We had a plan to invade the city, but..."

Smellerbee frowned. "Let's just say-" "I made a really stupid decision. Long story short, I used her. I completely used her. And then she hated me. Hated everything about me. When I finally told her of our plan, while it was happening, that was the WORST thing that I could've done. She threw water at me, and it hurt. Not so much the water as her words after she had frozen me to a tree... 'Why Jet? I can't believe I trusted you. You LIED to me! You're sick, and I trusted you!'"

Hun gave him a look that matched his own, as though felt Jet's pain. "And then, in my anger, I called the signal to go through with our plan. And Katara turned to me. 'Jet you monster!'" the words seemed to echo in his mind, as though Katara were whispering them to him over and over again. "When she said goodbye and left me frozen to the tree for hours, my heart stopped beating. I didn't know what I had until it was gone. When she left... I had nothing left to live for. For a little while, even my passion for fighting disappeared. But soon that came back, strong as ever. By some miracle, I was brain washed. I forgot all about my terrible past with Katara.

"When I found her in Ba Sing Se, I didn't remember how I hurt her, only that I did. But I seemed to remember her forgiving me, although she hadn't. When I saw her on the street, she attacked me. I tried to tell her I had changed, but she only wanted to kill me. I threw down my swords to gain her trust, but she still pinned me against the wall. I showed her a poster of Appa in my hand and told her I only wanted to help them find Appa. Their flying bison. Aang, the Avatar, vouched for me, telling her I needed a chance. I told her I didn't have my gang any more, and that I had seriously changed.

"Katar still didn't believe me. But, luckily, her Earth-bending friend felt the vibrations in the stone and proved I was indeed not lying.

"Despite the fact that she knew I had changed, she told me they would not let me out of their sight. Glad to have made progress, I grew happy." He paused, thinking. "Then I took them to the place I had heard about, where Appa was. But, somehow, he wasn't there. When the janitor cleaning up Appa's hair and various "leavings" told them where Appa was, they decided to go look for him. When I offered to go with them, Katara promptly refused."

* * *

"Why won't you trust me?" I said, my heart falling with every word. "Gee, I wonder," she said sarcastically, crossing her arms as I stormed off. Her friend, the Earth Bender, said slowly, "Was that guy your boyfriend or something?" Katara gasped. "What? No!" She turned her head to the side stubbornly. The girl giggled. "I can tell you're lying," she sang. Katara stormed off.

Once we left the building, Katara's brother seemed to take charge. "We can take the train to the wall, but then we have to walk." The Avatar grinned, despite my feelings of dread. "Don't worry," he said happily and confidently. "On the way back we'll be flying!" The Earthbender smiled. "We're finally leaving Ba Sing Se." She threw her hands into the air for dramatic effect. "Worst city ever!"

As we continued walking, by bad or good luck, Longshot and Smellerbee came around the corner from behind us; at the time, I had false memories of having split up with them. I was brainwashed, after all. "Jet!" Smellerbee cried. Katara stopped walking and glared at me as thoguh she hated me. "I thought you said you didn't have your gang anymore!" I turned and looked behind me. "I don't!"

Smellerbee ran up and gave me a tight hug. "We were so worried!" She released me, but kept her hands on my arms. "How did you get away from the Dai Li?" Katara looked shocked. "The Dai Li!?" I stepped away from Smellerbee. "I don't know what she's talking about!" Smellerbee looked at me like I was crazy. "You got arrested by the Dai Li a couple weeks ago, we saw them drag you away," she said, gesturing to Longshot. "Why would I be arrested?" I inquired seriously. "I've been living peacefully in the city!"

The Earthbender had her hand on the ground, feeling the vibrations. "This doesn't make any sense," she said quietly. "They're both telling the truth!" Katara threw her hands out. "But that's impossible!" Her brother sighed. "No it's not! Toph can't tell who's lying because they both think they're telling the truth! Jet's been brainwashed!" He declared, pointing at me. My eyes grew wide as I looked at Smellberbee. "That's crazy! It can't be!" I looked at the group around me, and realized they were all slowly walking towards me, surrounding me in a circle that was impossible to escape from.

Later, tied to a chair, they all stared down at me. "The Dai Li must have sent Jet to mislead us," Katara said, frustrated. "And that means that the janitor was just part of their plot too." Aang looked at her. "I bet they have Appa here in the city!" He said happily. "Maybe he's in the same place as Jet." He turned to Jet. "Where did they take you?"

I looked up at them, innocent, clueless. "Nowhere! I- I don't know what you're talking about!" Aang put a hand on his chin. "We need to find a way to jog his real memories." Katara's brother smirked and raised his eyebrow. "Maybe Katara could kiss him," he said sarcastically. Katara recoiled at the thought, but my heart raced at the thought. "That should bring something back, he continued with a grin. Katara put her hands on her hips. "Maybe you should kiss him, Sokka." He held his hands up innocently. "Hey, it was just an idea." The Avatar frowned. "A bad one."

Sokka looked thoughtful for a moment and then his lips grew into a smile. "I got an idea!" He cried. He reached beneath the mattress and grabbed a piece of a straw. Bending over in front of me, he shoved the piece of straw into my mouth, shoving my head backwards rather violently. I stared at him for a moment before saying, "I don't think it's working." I spit it out onto the floor.

The Earthbender frowned. "Try to think of something from your past that triggers your emotions." Smellerbee took a step forward. "The Fire Nation! Remember what they did to your family!" Katara glared at him. "Close your eyes. Picture it."

I closed my eyes and focused hard to remember my past. With a sudden painful jolt in my mind, I remembered. I remembered standing before a fire, burning my village. Beyond the wall of flames, I could see the face of the man who killed my parents. He gave me a smirk as tears ran down my cheeks like waterfalls.

I threw myself forward, nearly falling from the chair. "No!" I shouted, sweat running down my face from over-exerting my memory. "It's too painful." Katara took a few steps till she was standing behind me. "Maybe this will help." She bended the water from her pouch into glowing balls in her palm. She held them against my temples. I squinted as I stared at my gloved hands, but slowly as I looked up, the scenery was changing. No longer the apartment I lived in, but a man standing on a lake.

I recognized him immediately a the leader of the Dai Li.

I was pulled under water, bubbles flying towards the surface all around me. Suddenly, I was flying through dimly-lit tunnels, green from lights beyond my vision.

The memory faded once more, until I was sitting in a chair. But I was not back in the apartment, I was in a circular, stone room, a single lamp floating around my head. A single Dai Li agent stood before, his face as hard as the stone wall behind him.

"They took me to a Headquarters under the water," I said quietly to the group standing in a half circle before me. "Like a lake." Sokka, Katara's brother, held out his hand. "Wait," he said quickly. "Remember what Joo Di said? She said she went on vacation to Lake Laogai." I suddenly got excited. "That's it! Lake Laogai."

* * *

"Well," Jet continued after his long tale. "Long story short, once we got down there, we had a huge battle with the Dai Li agents, even better then the battle we had with the Fire Nation soldiers. When me and the Avatar followed the Leader when he ran from the fight, he said to me, 'Jet, the Earth King has invited you to Lake Laogai.' Well, that was the trick to brain washing me again. I said, 'I am honored to accept his invitation.' Not by my own will of course, I was brain washed again.

"Well, I turned on Aang. I lashed out at him and tried to kill him. He didn't want to hurt me, and merely airbended me away and jumped and dodged my every swing. He tried shouting things to me, to get me too remember, but nothing seemed to work. Until he said, 'You're a Freedom Fighter.'" Smellerbee grinned. "This is touching, but I want more roast beef." Kilo poured her more as Jet continued with his story.

"Suddenly, I remembered. I remembered all of my friends, and our fight against the Fire Nation... And Katara.

"I turned on the Dai Li Leader, and threw my hook sword at him. He dodged it, and then bended Earth beneath me." Hun gasped. "Oh no." "Oh yeah." He lifted his shirt up to show the disgusting mess beneath his shirt left from Smellerbee's stitching. Longshot quickly turned away. "I broke a couple ribs and almost punctured my lung. But Smellerbee here saved my life." He gave her a lopsided grin.

"Well the rest of the group came in and saw me laying on the ground, and immediately knew what happened. They rushed to my side, including Katara. She used her healy, watery, glowy thing, but it didn't work. I was too broken for her Spirit Water. Both Katara and Toph knew I was a dead man. It was then I heard Longshot speak for the first time." Longshot grinned. "He said, 'There's no time. Just go. We'll take care of him. He's our leader.'" Smellerbee playfully punched his shoulder.

"And of course, thinking I was going to die, I told Katara I would be fine. Then she left. That was the last time I ever saw her."

Kilo clapped her eyes tearing up. "That was the most romantic story I have ever heard!" Jet smirked. "You must not have heard many love stories, because mine is pretty messed up." Hun laughed. "I had a girlfriend once." Everyone looked at him. "Then we broke up." Everyone laughed as they finished their meals, talking and laughing.

But Jet, having talked for over a half hour, felt relieved. As though telling his story was a giant sigh, a relief, he could laugh. A genuine, happy laugh.

If Jet had died, too many ropes would have been left untied.

* * *

**Author's Note: This is an important note from the desk of the author of this story: This chapter is not mine, but me PARAPHRASING Book 2 Chapter 17, Lake Laogai. I do not take credit for much of this chapter, especially the dialogue, word for word from the episode.  
ALL CREDIT GOES TO NICKELODEON AND THE CREATORS OF AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER.**


	6. Maybe She Is the One?

Jet's eyes flickered open slowly, the light shocking him. It was extremely sunny that morning, and the windows were flung open, a soft breeze worming in through the window frame. He rolled over to see an empty room before him. He listened closely; there were no voices in the other room. In fact, there was no sounds of movement either, or any other indication of human life being in the house as well.

He slid from the bed into his boots and sniffed his clothes. They would be considered "clean" for at least a few more days. His body, on the other hand, smelled like rotten eggs. He walked from into an empty hallway. At the end of the short corridor was a desolate kitchen and small, empty lounge. On the table lay a note; Jet, he read. The rest of the words did not use the letters J-E-T, and he there for could not read it, despite his frustration. He soon found an empty tub, and filled it with warm water. When the water was half way to the rim of the tub, Jet climbed in.

That was just what he needed. After he had cleaned up and put on his "clean" clothes, he felt like a new man. As he slipped into his boots once more, the silence of the household once more engulfed him. His only option for human activity was Jin. As he stepped onto the front porch, sunlight began to beat down on his face. The warmth seemed to cheer him up even more then he already was, and he grinned despite himself. He walked swiftly down the street, a soft and warm breeze sliding through his brown strands of hair.

Before long, he saw Jin's brown front door, the phrase 'Yortu hagge juhi tal' splattered across it. He climbed the front porch and took a deep breath. He clenched his fist before knocking lightly on the door. A man answered it, sloppy and dirty. "What do you want?" He said roughly, the cup in his hand tilting precairiously in his hand. Jet frowned. "Does Jin live here?" "Maybe." The man said, the cup tilting even further. "Why do you ask?" Jet eyed the cup, the contents almost spilling over the edge. "I was just going to ask her to hang out." The man looked over his shoulder, the liquid inside the cup spilling into the grass beside the porch. "Jin!" He shouted angrily. "There is a guy here for you." The man turned back to him. "Why do you want to hang out with _Jin_, of all people?" Jet shrugged. "She's pretty cool." The man grunted, before turning from the doorway, stepping into the living room.

Behind where the man had been standing, a door opened, and Jin walked out. Her hair was in a cute bun on the top of her hair, and she was clothed in dark green. The greens complimented her eyes, making her look better then when they had first met. Jet grinned. "Hey," he said, a grin dancing on his lips. She smiled back, stepping onto the front porch. Jet reached around her and shut the front door before the two walked from the house down the stone street. "I guess you missed me too much to last two days without me, huh?" Jet grinned. "Well, you weren't my first choice." Jin smirked. " Yeah right, you missed me too much to handle it." He laughed softly. "Yes of course."

As they walked downt he streets teasing one another, they noticed Smellerbee, Longshot, Kilo, and Jethro walking down the street towards them. Jet frowned as the two groups stopped walking and combined into one. "Where were you?" Jet asked. Kilo gave him a soft grin. "We went grocery shopping." His frown lingered. "Why did you just leave me?" Smellerbee replied immediately. "You looked really tired still." Jet nodded, before motioning towards Jin. "Oh, this is Jin. Jin, that's Smellerbee, Longshot, Jethro, and Kiljo," he said, pointing respectively. "Kilo," the old healer corrected. "Whatever," came the reply.

Kilo, in an attempt to cut the tension, changed the subject. "Well, me and Jethro are going to Komija's house for lunch, and it's quite a walk so we need to get started. Jet, Jin, would you like to join us?" Jet looked at Jin, as if it was up to her. Jin frowned. "Well, actually, I have to visit my mom right after lunch. So, I don't think going to eat with you guys would be a very good idea." Kilo sighed. "That's too bad; he usually cooks too much food for us to eat anyways." Jin smiled. "Maybe another time."

Jet looked at Kilo. "And I'm staying with her," he said, as if stressing the fact that meant he was absolutely NOT going with Kilo. The old healer nodded, grabbing Jethro's hand and turning to walk away. Smellerbee gave Jet a quick hug before turning and following after her. Longshot gave him a slight nod, before walking away, right next to her.

Jet rolled his eyes. "That stupid healer lady is splitting us up." "What?" Jet looked down at Jin suddenly, as if he had forgotten she was there. "Oh, nevermind." Jin smiled. "Alright then," she giggled. "Would you like to come eat lunch with me and my family?" Jet shrugged, but when he looked at her, her pleading eyes nearly forced him to say yes.

"Alright," he muttered, embarrassed by the sudden captivation of her eyes. She linked arms with his, and began to walk back towards her house. "I think my dad said he was cooking some weird dish that he has never cooked before." She paused. "That means it will probably be gross." Jet grinned. "I can't cook. At all." Jin looked up at him, scrutinizing. "...What?" Jet asked. "You don't look like the type of guy that could cook." He smiled, Jin's house a few feet ahead. When they climbed the stairs, Jet reached around her and opened the door for her. "Ladies first," he said with a mocking bow.

Jin giggled, stepping through the doorway into the room beyond. Her dad sat at a table, a strange looking piece of bread laying on the table before. With it was cheese and water. The man barely looked up from the table to his daughter. "I burnt the bread again, but we got cheese this time." Jin smiled sweetly, as though that was a luxury. "Thanks daddy. I'd like you to meet Jet." The man looked up to see Jet. "Great, another mouth to feed." Jin nodded slowly, her smile nearly failing. "Well, he can have my share-" "No," he father interupted, his head shaking. "No, he can just eat whatever is left over." Jin nodded slowly, her smile gone.

Suddenly, several small boys ran from the back room. One, two, three, four small heads with short, cropped hair bobbed past him. One had brown hair, but the rest of the boys had black hair and bright blue eyes. The four boys plopped down on the floor around the small table, and began to cut themselves large slices. They cut off some cheese, laying it on the bread like icing on a cake, as they chattered loudly nonstop. Without a prayer to the spirits, the men of the family shoveled the food into their mouths. Jin, an embarrassed look on her face sat down beside her youngest brother, cutting herself a piece of bread and a slice of cheese much smaller then the rest of her family's. Jet had a suspicion this was an attempt to give Jet more.

He sat down beside her, cutting himself a piece the same size as Jin's. Her father watched him furiously, as if eating in his house was a crime. Jet ate swiftly, clutching the hilts of his hook swords threateningly. When Jin's brother realized that he had swords, they swarmed him, begging to see them. He took the boys outside and demonstrated some his fancier moves. Fascinated, the boys found sticks and began to sword-fight. Jin's father poked his head out the back door. "Stop with the violence!" He cried, ignored by the brothers.

Jet decided that his welcome had ended, and he walked up to the frowning Jin. "Hey," he said quietly. "I think I should go now." Jin nodded quickly. "Yeah, same here." She turned on her heel, looking over her shoulder. "I'm going to visit my mom. Want to come?" He shrugged, thinking for a moment. If he didn't go with Jin, he would have to arrive at an empty house until later that night. Finally, he nodded.

"Yeah, I would love to." Jin's once flustered expression was replaced by her usual ear to ear grin. "Alright." As usual, she linked arms with him, nearly dragging Jet down the street. "Can I ask you a personal question?" Jin shrugged. "Sure." "Where is your mom?" Jin hesitated to answer. "In a... hospital." Jet caught a hidden meaning behind her words. "Oh. What for?" Jin shrugged. "She is sick, of course." Once again, there was more meaning behind her words, just like there would be more behind the walls of a home, or more behind the curtain of a window.

Jet didn't interogate her anymore, for which Jin seemed grateful. "Can I ask you a personal question now?" Jet thought for a moment. "I'd rather you not." Jin giggled. "Too bad." She took a deep breath, her feet tapping a rythem as they trotted down the street. "Why are a bunch of teenagers travelling by themselves, staying at someone's house who they can't even remember the name of?" Jet paused. "Her name is Kilon." "It's actually Kilo." "Close enough," he muttered. Jin stopped walking and poked his chest. "Answer the question." "What question?" "Why are you, Smellerbee, and Longshot travelling, without an adult?" Jet sighed.

"We're hiding from the Dai Li, in a sense." Jin took a step back. "What did you do that was so wrong?" Jet shook his head. "Nothing. They just were mad because I was talking about the war," he lied. Jin nodded slowly. "They do hate it when people talk about that kind of stuff." Awkwardly, as though afraid someone would hear them, she linked arms with him again, continuing to walk down the street. "Well, we're almost there." He looked down the street to see several large huts, one with a sign on it. Sadly, Jet could not read the words upon them.

At long last, the last minutes of the walk filled with awkward silence, they arrived at the front steps. For some reason, all of the huts were on stilts, requiring the use of steps. It was almost like a two story, except the bottom floor was not there; it was merely many stilts supporting the building atop of them.

Jet opened the door for Jin, but did not give her a mock bow, or even a smile. She entered the front room of the large hut and grinned at the large man at the front desk. "Jin!" He said quietly, standing to give her a suffocating hug. She gasped for breath when he finally released her. "Yuka," she muttered breathlessly. He grinned. "Sorry, little missy." He motioned towards the side door. "Well, she is first door on your right." she nodded walking through the door. Looking over her shoulder, she grinned. "You coming?" Jet gave her a crooked smile, following her into the room.

What he saw inside the room, he had not expected.

Usually, when some says, 'My mom is sick', you would assume she had a fever or a cold. Maybe, you would even think of chicken pox, or Buffalo-Hog boils, if you were from the Eastern Earth Kingdom. The hospital room you would imagine would have a single bed in it, maybe even one or two, and some medicine, and some patients. Maybe there would be a window in the room you imagine, or a counter and chair. Maybe there would be a cabinet, and pretty paintings on the wall, imitations of the real works of art. Maybe there would be a doctor or nurse standing over a sneezing child, checking there heartbeat with primitive stethoscopes.

You would not expect to see what Jet saw.

There was a single bed, but that was the only thing in the room he would have expected. There was a woman sitting on the edge of her bed, large brown eyes staring at the wall. There were unused straps hanging from the side of the bed, as though waiting to tie someone to the mattress. There was no window or painting to occupy the wall, and no counter ot chair. There was two doctors leaning against the wall whispering, but besides the bed, woman, and doctors, there was nothing else in the dimly-lit room. Jin stepped in casually, as though she had been there a hundred times. "Mommy," she said, as though speaking to a small child. The woman made no physical reaction, staring at the wall with determination. "Daddy told me to let you know he loves you," she lied, the woman unresponisve. "Do you remember daddy? He still has the brown hair from when you guys got married, but he says it is going to turn gray someday soon," Jin lied, as though trying to probe a response.

"And bubby says he loves you too. It's just me and him and daddy, but we are waiting for you to come home soon, mommy," she continued with her lie. The woman suddenly jerked her head towards Jin. The girl did not flinch from the quick movement like Jet did, but casually touched her shoulder. "You are awake," she said with a sweet smile. "Do I know you?" The woman said roughly. The doctor's inched towards the bed from behind Jin's mom. "Yes, mommy, it's me, Jin." The woman's eyes closed, but opened several moments later. "Help!" She screamed suddenly, her voice belting from her thin frame. "Help! She is going to kiiiiiiill me!" She cried, her voice too loud for such a small body. When she lashed out for Jin's face, the doctor's were ready.

They clutched her shoulder's, tying the woman down to the bed. She began to wildly kick her legs out, knocking one of the doctor's unconcious. "Murderer!" Jin looked away, rushing from the room. "How did it..." he heard Yuka begin, before hearing the front door of the building slam. Yuka rushed into the room, helping the concious doctor strap Jin's mother down. Jet didn't see the end of the struggle, racing after Jin. He bounded down the steps, looking around for her. He didn't see her, but her heard a sob in the distance. He followed the sound for a few moments, silent as a fox. He finally saw Jin, leaning against a rather large tree. Her head buried in her knees. He walked up silently.

"Jin?" He finally said softly. She ignored him, tears streaming down her cheeks. He sat down beside her, holding her close. Her put his chin on her head as she buried her face into his chest, hugging him tightly. After a few minutes, her crying stopped. He wiped the tears from her eyes, cupping his hand beneathe her chin. "Jin?" He asked softly. "What." She said simply, her eyes not meeting his. He kissed her forehead. "I'm so sorry." She evaded his eyes a single tear dripping down her cheek. He wiped it away softly. "How did it happen?" Jin shrugged slowly. "She was fine, until our old village got attacked by the Fire Nation. She slowly just..." she paused, her voice lowering to a whisper. "She just... lost her mind." Jet released her chin, but she did not bury her face into his chest again.

"I'm sorry I made you go with me," she said softly. "I'm glad you asked me to go." "You are?" she asked, not looking him in the eyes still. He nodded slowly. "Yes. Otherwise, you would be sitting out here all by yourself." Jin met his eyes, the tears in her eyes slowly dissapearing. "Thank you." She whispered. Suddenly, Jet pressed his lips against her. She pulled away immediately, a look of shock on her face. "What are you doing?" Jet gave her a crooked grin, barely even a smile. "Jin, you are the most amazing girl I have ever met. Today just made me realize how much you have been through." Jin sighed, pressing her forehead against his. "I don't want to like you," she whispered. "Because you will have to leave eventually." Jet frowned. "But you can come with us!" Jin shook her head slowly. "I have to stay here with my mom." Jet gave her a crooked grin, their foreheads still touching. "Then I can stay here with you." Jin smiled softly, her eyes meeting his. "Jin?" He said quietly, but he was interupted by the touch of her lips against his.


	7. On the Edge of My Seat

Jet woke up the next day with a terrible pain in his stomach. When his eyes first opened, he cried out. "Smellerbee," he gasped, doubled over on his bed, clutching his stomach.

Smellerbee returned a few moments later at Kilo's heels. "Tell me where it hurts," the old healer ordered. Jet released his stomach's hold only long enough to point to underneath his rib cage. Then, his hands clutched around his stomach again. "Is it a sharp pain, or more of an ache?" Jet groaned, "Sharp." He grimaced as another pain stabbed his stomach.

Kilo frowned. "Do you drink?" Jet threw her a glance. "Drinking is for people who are running from their fears." Kilo gave him a small smile. "Can you move your hands so I can feel it, make sure you don't have any lumps?" She reached down but he pushed her hand away. "You ain't touching me, I'm going to a hospital." He tried to stand, but doubled over in pain, falling onto the floor. Longshot supported him with his shoulder, strong enough to lift him up without help. Kilo frowned, holding the door open for them. She picked Jethro up in the living room, and then they locked the house up and left.

Kilo led them to a small hospital a few roads down, Jet crying out every few steps. After nearly ten minutes of walking a route that usually only would have taken two, they reached the hospital. They climbed the stairs to the hospital on the stilts, a great struggle for Jet. When they reached the upstairs building, two doctors swept Jet from Longshot and led the group into the back room, where a sign Jet could not read hung on the door. "Where does it hurt?"

He slid his hand across the skin beneath his rib cage. Smellerbee piped in, "He was in an accident a few days back, and his ribs were broken. He lost a lot of blood in that area. Could that be it?" The doctor shook his head. "Loss of blood could not cause so much pain. But broken ribs..." The other doctor interrupted, "He might have some pieces of bone that moved?" The first doctor nodded.

They pulled out a bottle of clear liquid, and poured some into a small cup. Jet took it without hesitation, drinking it and hoping it would take some of the pain away. After a few seconds, he felt giddy despite the pain. They took light green gel and rubbed it over his stomach. "Wow," Jet said with a goofy smile. "I can't feel anything." The doctor smiled, taking a razor and cutting the skin on Jet's stomach. "Oh, I felt that." Jet said with a frown. He reached to touch the gash in his stomach, but the doctor grabbed it and handed it to Longshot. "Do NOT let him touch the cut." The doctor said sternly.

Longshot clutched both of Jet's hands above his head, not looking at Jet's stomach for fear of puking. Jet wiggled against his grip. "Let go," Jet said with a high pitched giggle. The doctor frowned. "Don't move." "Wow!" Jet suddenly said loudly, as the doctor's began to poke around inside Jet's stomach. "I feel like I swallowed something that is still alive, and it keeps moving around, and like a frog or something..." Jet continued rambling as the Doctor's pulled out pieces of bone from his stomach.

Finally, Jet frowned, and stopped talking. "That hurt," he said softly. "Ow, you guys... I can't... My stomach... It hurts!" He looked at the cut. As Jet continued yelling, the doctor's made him drink more of the clear liquid, and rubbed more of the green gel onto his stomach. Soon, he was babbling once more.

Less then an hour later, a pile of pieces of bones lay beside the bed. The Doctor's had stitched up his stomach laceration, and given him a jar of the green gel. "Keep this on that," the doctor said loudly, over his babbling. "It will keep it numb, and the pain won't be as bad." Smellerbee looked down at Jet, who was rambling about what he wanted for dinner. "How long will he be... like this?" The only doctor in the room still laughed. "Only for an hour or two. The clear liquid... gets his mind off of it, and the green stuff numbs it." Longshot smiled, looking down at Jet.

He had green gel plastered onto his stomach, and a rather thick bandage wrapped around his rib cage. There was a little blood, but not enough to make squeemish Longshot puke. Kilo, holding the sleeping Jethro, stood and thanked the doctor's, quickly leaving the hospital. When Smellerbee caught up with her, Kilo frowned. "Why does Jet despise me so much?" Smellerbee bit her lip. "I have no idea." "I think you do," Kilo said with a joking smile. Smellerbee, still serious, did not release her lock jaw on her lip. "I think I might possibly have a small idea about why he might not like you."

Kilo frowned. "Smellerbee?" She looked down at the girl; when she had first met her, Kilo had sworn it was a boy. Then she saw Longshot and her holding hands, and was ready to throw the homosexuals from her home, when she discovered the gender confusion. Smellerbee frowne dup at the old woman. "I never met her but... I think he hates you because you act like his mom."

Kilo looked at her sleeping grandson, and then back to her. "Well what happened to his mom?" Smellerbee looked away. "She died." Kilo gasped. "That is so sad!" Smellerbee shushed her, not wanting Jet to overhear.

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Jin stopped by later that day, after Jet's medicine had wore off. "I saw you walking to the hospital," she explained, "but I decided to wait." Jet understood; after going to the 'hospital' to see Jin's mom, he understood why she would not want to see Jet going through anything similar. She had brought a basket of freshly baked cookies as well. When he ate one, he could tell there was no sugar in it, and that she had also used a substitute for flour. They did not taste as good as they should have, but Jet did not complain. He thanked her and told her they were delicious, as any good man should.

Jin smiled. "Your welcome." "Jin! These are great," Kilo said with a grin. Smellerbee and Longshot nodded, agreeing with them as though they tasted fine. Jethro did not complain, but he also did not take seconds like the others did. Jet told her why he went to the hospital. She paled, and looked as though ready to feint, so JEt quickly told her that he was fine. "They gave me osme medication, and as long as I keep it on there I will be fine." Jin glanced at his bandage, and shuttered. "That's digusting." Longshot nodded in total agreement.

Jin only stayed for a little while. "I have to babysit," she explained. Jet walked her outside to the front porch, the farthest he could go without something to hold onto. "I'm not babysitting," Jin said with a small smile. "I'm going to see my mom. I know that deep down, she knows who I am, and is glad that I come visit her, and tell her about dad and stuff." Jet nodded seriously. "I know she does. It's like my mom. At night, I talk to the stars. I know they don't reply, but I also know my mom is up there, watching me, and that she is glad I talk to her. Your mom is too, I promise." Jin threw her arms around Jet, pulling him into a tight hug. Jet ignored the pain, hugging her back. She pulled away, tears in her eyes.

Jet wiped them away, frowning. "Don't cry, please," he said. She smiled. "Too late." She gave him one last, softer hug and said good bye, leaving him on the porch alone with his thoughts. Did he really just admit he talked to the stars?

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Author's Note: Not too pleased with this chapter, but not too dissapointed either.


	8. Some Freedom

A cloud that looked like an Ostrich-horse floating past the sun, another white fluff on the blue vast blue expanse above Jet. The grass tickled his bare back, the sun beating against his chest. He flicked a spider off his pant leg looking back up at the sky. He heard a rustle in the grass, looking up to see none other then Hun walked towards him. "Hey," he said with a smirk. "I'm leaving next week, thought I might come see what was up." Jet sat up, leaning against a rock. "Apparently, the clouds." He smiled. "Yeah, good job. I forgot to warn you that clouds were up in the sky!"

Jet grinned at his sarcasm. "So what would you doing out here getting all sun burnt?" He shrugged. "Thinking." "Oh," Hun said. "I understand why you would want to think while getting sun burnt with her shirt off, staring at the clouds." Jet laughed lightly. "Yeah, whatever." He smiled. "What were you thinking about." Jet shrugged. "Chicks. They are so complicated." Hun laughed. "Tell me about it. What happened this time?" Jet shrugged. "Nothing really. I'm just... I don't know, it's stupid stuff." Hun smirked. "Usually stuff about women is stupid. Continue anyways." Jet smirked.

"Well, I really like Smellerbee, but I like Jin too. And then there is Katara. And I really don't know which one I like." Hun shrugged. "That is isn't that hard; which one is hottest?" Jet shrugged.

"Katara for sure."

"Which one has the best personality?"

"Jin."

"Well then why the heck do you like Smellerbee?"

Jet thought for a moment. "I really don't know." Hun smirked. "I think it is because Longshot finally has something you don't you want to take it from him." Jet threw a rock at him that he easily deflected by bending it out of it's course towards his face. "Katara is so beautiful, but she is so bossy! And Jin is really sweet, but she can't leave with me to travel like I want to. I told her I would stay here with her... but I don't want to stay here in Ba Sing Se. It brings too many memories about Katara. Katara loves to travel and would go anywhere with me, but..."

Hun raised an eyebrow. "But what?" Jet shrugged. "She is too controlling." Hun nodded his head slowly. "Indeed, this is a problem," he said, as though he was going to add to it. After several moments of not continuing, Jet looked at his friend. "You do NOT give very good advice." Hun shrugged. "You didn't ask for advice. You just rambled." Jet laughed lightly, a smirk setting on his face. "Sorry." He shrugged again. "If you want advice, just ask." Hun grinned, sitting back against the side of the house. "Fine. I want advice." Hun cleared his throat. "Ditch em both and let's have a guy's night out in the city. Me and you. Party jumping all night."

Jet hesitated, looking at the window of the house as though someone was going to jump out and strangle him at any moment. "Alright, but I'm not ditching anyone, I'm just going out for a night." Hun laughed, as though Jet was completely wrong. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Let's just get going." Jet stood and slipped his shirt on, following Hun down the street; he wondered if he should leave a note for Smellerbee and Longshot, but decided against it quickly. Tonight he was focusing on the fact that he was free of any responsibility. He cleared his throat.

"So," Jet began slowly. "Where are these parties exactly?" Hun smirked. "The lower ring." He nodded. "Oh." Hun looked at his with a raised eyebrow. "Is that a problem?" Jet shook his head quickly. "No, no, of course not."

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Author's note;; I know, I know. It took me a long time to update last time and five days to update this time, and this chapter is too short to be worth reading. I'm sorry! Next update will be longer!


	9. Freedom Isn't Worth It

**Beforehand: This Chapter is why it was raised to T. It is not terribly graphic, but there is a tad bit of sexual implications and alcohol reference. If you would rather not read that type of thing, don't read this chapter. I'll make sure to make the other chapters after this refer to this one so that the younger readers will not be terribly confused. Thanks for reading.**

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Upon taking the first step into the house, he knew the party would be crazy. He just never thought Hun was capable of finding such a place. It took them hours to walk to the house, and it was wedged between a burnt down store and an empty apartment complex. When they walked inside, Jet was greeted by a woman with a dress that seemed to be made for someone much shorter then her. "Hun!" She said, clearly pleased to see him there. She gave him a hug, pressing her chest against his.

Hun smirked over her shoulders at Jet, who rolled his eyes in reply. When she pulled away from the hug, her breasts were practically falling from her dress. "You are looking amazing tonight," Hun said with a grin. She smiled in reply. "Well, are you going to introduce me to your friend?" Hun shrugged, turning towards Jet, who merely gave a slight grin to him. "This is Jet, Jet this is Nezora." Jet nodded, reaching out to shake her hand; instead of shaking it as expected, she gave him a hug identical to the one she had given Hun. Jet returned it feebly, the girl not letting go for several moments.

When she finally did, Jet was blushing. She giggled, returning to Hun. She wrapped her arms lightly around his neck, his hands resting far too low on her hips. "I missed you so much," he said; Jet could easily tell he didn't mean it." She smiled, kissing him lightly. He pulled her closer, kissing her passionately. Jet looked away awkwardly. He began to walk away, looking over his shoulder for the last time to see her on his lap on a chair, Hun whispering in her ear. He walked into what was apparently the kitchen; He wanted some water, but all they had was Whiskey and a strange berry Cocktail.

He frowned, deciding the party wasn't worth it. He sat down and stared sleepily out the window; he knew he should be off playing Bunta with the guys, or flirting, or socializing at all, but he was feeling guilty for not leaving his friends a note. He decided that at the next party they jumped to he would have more fun.

After nearly an hour of boredom, Hun returned with Nezora. "Are you ready to get going?" Nezora whined in his ear. "You can't leave me here," she said, sliding her hands up his arms. Jet rolled his eyes once more. Hun lied easily. "You know I live pretty far from here. If we don't get going now we won't make it home until tomorrow." She smiled, hanging onto him as they reached the front door. He kissed her, pressing her between him and the door. Jet decided to wait outside.

Finally, Hun returned. "Let's go," he said with a yawn. Jet smirked. "Glad you had fun. How far to the next party?" Hun thought a moment. "I heard there was a big one on Kona Street." Jet shrugged. "Lead the way."

Before long, they entered another party.

Jet smiled, glad that a guy had answered the door instead of another half naked woman. "Hey, Hun. Who is your friend?" Hun introduced Jet quickly. "Jet, this is Keno, Keno this is Jet. Where's the Bunta?" The man smirked. "In other words, where is Joza?" Hun smirked, but nodded in response. Keno led them to a long table with several blocks laying out on it. "Joza!" Hun said, a woman hugging him tightly; fortunately, this woman was wearing clothes that fit properly. Her pants reached past her knees, and her shirt covered more then Nezora's dress. Her stomach was showing, but a very round belly protruded from it.

Hun pressed his cheek against her stomach for several seconds before smiling. "How much longer?" Joza smiled. "Any day now." Hun kissed her lightly, but did not go any further like he had with Nezora. When Joza took a few steps away to take her turn on the board, Jet said quietly to his friend, "Is that your baby in there?" Hun laughed quietly. "Nah. When the dad found out about Joza being pregnant, he left. She didn't even know where he went or anything, so I'm helping her with the baby and stuff." Jet frowned. "But your cheating on her." Hun looked shocked. "I'm not cheating on anyone! I don't even have a girlfriend. Me and Joza are just friends."

Jet frowned in disapproval; how many poor woman out there were being led on by Hun? Instead of speaking up, he joined in the game of Bunta. By the time Hun and Jet were ready to leave, Jet had an entire bag of coins. Joza congratualted him with a hug that seemed awkward due to her stomach. She gave Hun a kiss goodbye, and that was it. While they were walking to the next party, Jet frowned. "She didn't seem much like Nezora at all." Hun laughed. "You know. You have to treat each woman differently."

By the end of the night, Jet had kissed one girl; It had been an accident, really. He had been reaching to give her a hug, but she had been expecting more. The two were very embarassed; Jet had not been expecting it and pulled away too quickly, and she had felt bad for forcing him to kiss her. He never learned her name. Hun, on the other hand, seemed to have a different woman at all of the parties they went to. Every one of them was unique in some way; Joza was pregnant and more like a charity then a woman. Nezora probably had more men that Hun had woman. A girl named Yako pulled him upstairs before saying hello. Yet another woman named Vora slapped him six times before kissing him. The list went on.

All in all, the night had been terrible. Jet had won lots of money playing Bunta, but had not had any fun. Hun had been too involved with his woman to talk with Jet, and Jet had not known enough people to talk to any of the other woman.

When Jet got home to the sunrise, Smellerbee gave him a disproving look. Longshot matched her silence as Jet plopped the bag of coins onto the table. "I need some sleep," he mumbled, falling into a deep sleep on the bed.

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**Author's Note: I know, this chapter is a little.... Awkward. Don't worry, there will be no more chapters this graphic. Thanks for reading, please review!**


	10. An Old Wrinkled Woman

Jet looked up from his spot on the bed. Sleep made the back of his head heavy, and his bones ache with the drowsiness of another morning. Smellerbee frowned as she swung open the door. "Finally, you have been asleep long enough." Jet groaned. "A few more minutes." "You slept all day yesterday, now get up. Kilo made some amazing bread." She picked up a hat and left the room, slamming the door behind her. She must've still been mad about being left without notice.

He yawned as he sat up, slipping into his sandals. He walked from the guest room, the yawn still lingering in the air. He finally reached the kitchen, only to be greeted by silence. Jet gave Kilo a smile, but she merely turned away silently. He glanced at Smellerbee, but she seemed determined to stare at her bread. It was a golden brown, with some kind of green seasoning sprinkled on it. He gave a look to Longshot, who did not return the gaze.

He sat down, and Kilo sat down a plate of bread on the table. When he looked up to thank her, she was already on the other side of the room again. He frowned, quickly eating. When he finished, he said aloud, "I'm going to visit Jin." No reply came to him, so he left quickly. Instead of going straight to her house, he wandered into a small Market nearby.

Traveling Merchants who could not afford to stay at a Hotel in the Upper Ring, often slept in a small Inn within the Middle Ring. They set up their tents near the Inn in a small common area where they could sell there goods to the common people.

Jet looked at the stalls and tents, table and wagons filled with items they were willing to sell to the people. Jet wandered by a cart full of wheat and fish, and a table covered in furs. He saw a tents with racks within, shirts and pants hanging from them.

Before long, he pass an old woman sitting on a chair beside a small box. Jet looked at the woman puzzled. "What are you selling?" The woman looked up from the ring on her thumb. "I am selling jewelry. But I only give the jewels to those who truly desire it." Jet frowned. "What do you mean?" The woman grinned. "I can see, feel, and understand people's auras. I can tell whether they are buying it for themselves, or for someone they love."

"And who am I buying Jewelry for?" the woman smirked. "You are not buying any." He smiled. "Oh. Let me see what you have, and perhaps I will." The woman took a slow, deep breath. "No need to see it all. I can tell by your Aura you are looking for something to give to the woman you love. But also, you are not sure who it is you love. But, based on the piece of her Aura this woman has left on you, she will enjoy this bracelet more then any other piece I have to offer."

Jet frowned. "How much will this cost me?" The woman paused, as though examining his aura. "Nothing. I'm giving it to you for free. The combination of your aura's intrigues me. That is payment enough." He smiled, before it faded away. "What do you mean 'combination?' Is there something wrong with me?" She shook her head. "No; it just means you have more then just one signifigant woman in your life, and that you are confused."

He nodded. "Can you tell which woman I love?" The woman nodded. "The one with the white aura." "What other 'pieces' do I have in me?" She paused slightly. "There is a piece of white, but also some light pink and an almost green type of blue. But your aura, not the pieces, but your own aura, is red." "What does that mean?" He asked, not sure if he wanted to answer. "You are passionate, and a fury fuels your fire." He closed his eyes, but when he opened them back up, the woman was gone.

In her place lay a silver bracelet with shiny jewels laid within it. He seen words engraved in it, but could not read it; he was illiterate.

He took a deep breath; that was alot to take in. He dropped the bracelet into his pocket, and stood there for a moment longer before walking off towards Jin's house. Maybe hanging out with her for a few hours would let him know if she was the one who deserved the bracelet.

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Author's Note: He is probably even more confused now! Please Review.


	11. The Canvas' End

Jet stared at the wooden door before him; the words upon it had become familiar, and although Jet couldn't read, he was sure he could have written them from mere memory. He knocked on the door quietly as if not wanting the people on the other side to here it. A young boy with dark hair opened it, and smiled up at Jet. "Jin is out back." The boy dragged him through the house and out the back door, where Jet could see a figure running a brush along a canvas. He walked up quietly behind, unseen and unheard from the girl holding the brush between delicate fingers.

The strokes of her hand slowly began to form a figure of a face; Jet, based on his own oblivious instinct, assumed it would be of her mother. But before long, he realized the jaw was far too wide, and the eyes much too large. After nearly an hour of stroking the brush along the paper, she began to add color. The shading was amazing. There was deep brown mixed with light tans to perfect the eye colour, and the shading of the high cheekbones created a dim setting.

The lips were rounded just right, the shading of the pink perfect. The face in the portrait was looking straight at Jet, a mirror. "Jin?" He whispered quietly. She jumped so roughly, the canvas toppled over, paint spilling over the work of art and forming a rainbow puddle on the grass. Jet quickly said, "I'm sorry," and sat the painting upright again; blues and greens splattered across the front of it, a red stream of paint dripping over the right eye that had once been so beautiful. "My painting!" Jin pouted. "I was making it for you."

Jet smiled. "Well, it is still beautiful. Look, it's making it's own rainbow." Sure enough, the colors were dripping together and forming what looked like a river of ten thousand colors. Jin's frown slowly curved upward. "You're right!" She put her finger to the painting and ran her finger down it slowly; the colors meshed together perfectly.

Jet grinned, following her motion. He looked at the blue and yellow mixture on his finger and grinned, wiping the paint on her cheek. She giggled, wiping the green and red that had once been on her finger onto his neck. He ran his entire hand down the front of the wet painting and then clapped his hands onto her cheeks, paint splattering all over her face. She giggled, wiping her cheek onto his.

He turned his head, causing her to kiss his painted cheek. She then kissed his lips softly, matching purple painted lips meshing together softly.

He smiled as she leaned her wet cheek onto his shoulder. He tried to wipe the paint from his clothing, but only smeared it worse. He took her head in his hands and wiped her forehead onto his paint. She giggled once more, wiping the paint from her forehead onto his chest. "Oh that does it," he said with a smirk, tackling her to the grass where the paint had spilled. He rolled her around in the paint; she tried to resist, failing miserably as she giggled.

He stood with a smirk. "I win." She giggled, standing up quickly. "Now give me a hug." Jin jumped for him, but he took off across the yard. She chased after Jet quickly, jumping onto his back. He laughed, covered in a rainbow of paint as he gave her a piggy-back-ride across the yard.

At that moment, her father walked out. "Jin!" He yelped. Jin flinched, sliding off Jet's in her grimace. Paint dripped from her hair. "Get that paint washed off this instance! I told you not to let that boy over here anymore!" Jet frowned. "In her defense, the mess was my fault-" "Shut it, boy. And get off my property." Jet frowned, quickly stepping through the side gate and walking from their lawn, dripping with paint.

He could hear shouts from behind him, but didn't turn around; So Jin's father didn't like him, eh?

He left a messy rainbow trail behind him, colorful footprints following him. When he arrived back at Kilo's hut, the fact that he was covered in paint had still not fully registered. He climbed up the stairs, but Kilo opened the door at the perfect moment to stop him before he reached the actual house. "Stop right there, young man! Why are you covered in..." She sniffed him. "Paint." Jet shrugged. "Nothing. Can I just rinse off somewhere?"

Kilo frowned. "Yes, there is a tub upstairs. But there is no way I'm letting you go get it. Wait out back, and You can bath with your painted clothes on and get those clean to. Then I'll let you come inside." Jet nodded, walking back down the stairs and around the house. He waited in the back yard for her to come out, but time passed slowly. Kilo had still not come out when Smellerbee and Longshot arrived.

"What happened to you?" Smellerbee asked without truly caring. "Nothing. Kilo was bringing me out a tub to wash in, but it's been almost 20 minutes." Smellerbee and Longshot frowned, and went inside quickly, several seconds passed before Jet discovered what had happened.

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**Author's Note: Hmmm, a cliff hangar [: Please Review!**


	12. The Countdown Has Begun

The young girl stared down at the leaves of the Likopy; she could not have been more then eleven. The purple stem of the plant seemed to reach out with its leaves, which were a light green with dark purple spots on them. She pulled out a small knife and cut off the leaves, sniffing at the gray liquid that dripped like glue from the severed plant.

Her friend, a mere six feet away, moaned in pain. "Hurry up..." he whined. She rolled her eyes identical to the way she rolled up the leaf, the gooey liquid oozing out onto her finger.

She rubbed it gently onto the wound on his ankle.

The boy, Jethro, giggled lightly. "It is making it itch." The girl pointed a thin finger at him. "Don't itch it, or it will start bleeding again."

Jethro, foolish as he was, had stepped right into a Peko Bush.

Peko Bush's had thorns on them that could grow to be nine inches long. Even worse, on the tips of said thorns was a slight poison that could cause wounds to become infected, and even kill the injured person.

It was just Jethro's luck that he step right into a bush and then not tell her for two hours.

Now, gripping his purple and black swollen ankle and whining, he realized his mistake.

The girl smacked his hand away. "Don't touch it."

"But it hurts!" She smacked his hand away again, a red hand print appearing on the back of his hand.

"You smack hard," he commented, "for a girl." She rolled her eyes again. "I smack harder then you, Jethro."

He snorted. "You're all talk." She smacked his arm, a bright red outline of her palm appearing on his hand.

"Ok, you win, that's enough..."

* * *

One year later, on her birthday, her brother, Mico, fell from a tree.

Normally, this would not be an issue.

But, knowing her luck, they were in the tree hiding from the Penguin-Snakes that had chased them through the woods. When he had fallen out, the Penguin Snakes had bitten his cheek and darted away, satisfied.

She sighed. "Let me see it."

He moved his hand away to reveal a bleeding pair of teeth marks that had cut through is flesh.

She sighed again, pulling out a bottle of white gel that she forced him to spread onto the wound, no matter how severely it burned.

After a few minutes, the bite marks had closed up and stopped bleeding. Mico even said it didn't hurt as bad as before.

A half hour later, they were home again.

* * *

A teenage girl stepped out of the house, finally finished with her chores. Jethro sat against the wall of the shed a few feet beyond where the green grass ended, and she shot him a smile.

He embraced her with a quick hug, and then the two began their walk down the street.

"Are you excited?" He asked quietly.

"Very," she replied. "I've wanted this for a long time."

Jethro smiled. "I know, and you've worked really hard for it, you deserve it."

She grinned. "It wasn't easy, trust me."

He returned the grin, holding the door to the Hospital open.

She stepped past the doorway and into the bright lights of the room beyond.

The nurses welcomed her in like she was their boss or something.

For all they knew, the nineteen year old girl was being promoted that very hour.

Jethro knew, and all of the nurses knew, but they had tried their hardest to keep it secret.

The girl worked hard every day, and thought she was merely getting a raise.

But her friends from the Hospital and her boyfriend knew that the boss was retiring, and passing the hospital down to her.

After nearly an hour within the office of the Head Doctor, she ran back out to Jethro.

"He gave me the hospital!" She cried with a wide grin.

* * *

Four years later, Jethro and her were married, with two children.

Many years later, Jethro and her were still married, with two children, and 5 grandchildren.

24 year later, she had two children, 5 grandchildren, and 18 beautiful grandchildren.

Not long after her 18th grandchild was born, there was a terrible fire.

Nobody knew how it was started, or who started it.

But before she knew it, the entire town was set ablaze.

The fire was closing in on her home.

Jethro pulled her from the bed, both of them half asleep. They were out of the boundaries of the town and safe. "Stay here," he whispered. "I'm going to go find your brother."

She shook her head. "I can't let you-"

Before she could stop him, he had disappeared into the flames.

She never saw him or her children or grandchildren again.

* * *

Many, many years later, long after the 100 Year War had begun, her town was set ablaze once more.

Unmarried and without family, she had no obligations as she fled her home.

Until she saw a baby boy laying on the floor sobbing through the smoke.

He had no mother or father nearby; she could not leave him lying in the flames to die.

She picked up the child and fled to Ba Sing Se.

She named him Jethro, in honor of her deceased husband; the young baby had the same eyes as the Jethro that had passed away.

As she watched the boy grow, she realized raising this boy would be harder then any other child she had met.

He had a knack for falling off of things, for bleeding, for breaking bones, for crashing, and countless other follies.

She loved the boy to death, and did not ever hold back the tale of how she had saved him, and taken him in as her own.

* * *

In the end, Kilo found that although she had been able to save her husband, brother, and son's life, she could not save her own.

The doctor said repeatedly "Merely hours left," "You will need to find somewhere else to live, the house is being sold," "Jethro needs somewhere togo..."

Jet felt terrible; she had tripped over his pile of dirty clothes she had been nagging him to clean up for days. Consequently, she had fallen right onto the tub she had been going to bring down to Jet. The metal rim sliced open her forehead.

By the time anyone had made it upstairs to her, she had lost too much blood and was unconscious. Longshot carried her downstairs, and they had rushed her to the hospital.

Now, she was most likely going to pass away due to the simple mistake of tripping over a pile of dirty clothing.

Jethro was sobbing, unable to stop, and not even Smellerbee could calm him down. Longshot had his face buried in his hands, not saying a word to anyone; it was not his usual, comfortable silence, though, it was the kind of silence that sent a shiver up the spines of everyone in the room and a chill that spread through the group gathered. Jin had her face buried in Jet's shoulder, and was crying as well. Hun stared at the floor. Many friends that Kilo had made along the journey through her life had gathered in the small Hospital Waiting Room as well, many of the group having to crowd together on the floor due to the lack of sufficient seating.

In the final hours of Kilo's life, Jet realized they had a problem; where would they go now?

The countdown had begun, she had barely more then two hours, the doctor had said.

* * *

Author's Note: "She was most likely going to pass away due to the simple mistake of tripping over a pile of dirty clothing..." Moral of this chapter? Clean up your rooms!

Just Kidding.

Please Review :D


	13. He Speaks

_A lifetime of greatness_, he thought,_ and I was the one to bring it to an end._

Jet looked down at the boy on the floor at the bottom of his seat. He had his arms wrapped around Jet's leg, tears soaking the pants he clutched to. "Mommy," the boy sobbed into his leg. Jet looked away, unable to bear the sight. Longshot met his eye and nodded towards the door. He stood and left the room the door not completely shutting behind him.

Jet peeled Jethro from his leg and then followed Longshot into the hall outside the waiting room.

"Jet," Longshot said quietly. Jet was surprised that Longshot had spoken. "I can see what your doing."

Jet's heartbeat sped up. "What do you mean?"

"Me and Smellerbee are leaving for the tree house tomorrow, and we are staying there until we get married; I am in love with her, and I'm not letting you get in the middle of that." Jet was surprised that Longshot was speaking, especially about love. "I can see you love her too, but you also love Jin. You have to decide where your heart lies; Are you coming back to the tree house with me and Smellerbee, or staying with Jin?"

Jet took a deep breath, swallowing the knot in his throat. "I don't know," Jet said. "I honestly don't know." Longshot ignored him. "If you come with me and Smellerbee, you will have no one; you won't win her over. I love her, and she loves me." Jet nodded. "Is that what this is about? You are afraid I'm going to steal away you girl again?" Once again, Longshot ignored him. "If you stay here you will have Jin. But, ah, there is a third girl, is there not?"

Jet froze in his spot, not a single muscle moving.

Longshot smirked. "You have three options, Jet."

He didn't move or speak.

"Follow me and Smellerbee to the tree house. If you do, fine. If you try to steal her, not fine. We'll make you leave. It's not that we don't want you there, but she is mine. She is wearing the engagement ring I bought her, and we will be married in almost four months.

"Stay here with Jin; you can get a job, and the two of you can move in together. Granted, you will be permanently settling down, but at least you will have your girl.

"Or, there is a third option, as much as there is a third girl."

Jet relaxed slightly. Maybe Longshot didn't know who the third girl was.

"Katara is waiting for something, Jet."

And with his final words, Longshot turned and went back into the waiting room.

Jet leaned against the wall. Longshot was right; there was three girls, and three options.

It was time to decide who the bracelet belonged to.

* * *

Author's Note: It is too hard to update, gahh!

I'll try to get on more.

Please review!


	14. Imagination Gone Wild

Jet looked at where Jin sat, asleep against the edge of her chair. Smellerbee did not say anything as Jet entered the room. Katara was a thousand miles away, thinking Jet was dead. The three seemed so distant.

He sat down in his seat again, Jin merely inches away.

He began to wonder about the strangest of things, things that a Freedom Fighter like Jet would not usual be thinking about. He imagined what children with Jin would look like. He imagined a young girl about four years old with her hair falling in curls around her face, and big brown eyes that took over her expression. She sat on the shoulders of a boy about 17, obviously her older brother. He had Jet's hair, but clearly had Jin's eyes, just like the young girl on his shoulders. Another boy about the age of 12 stood beside them, his hair shorter and spiked up slightly, instead with Jet's eyes. Smaller then Jin's, but they were still brown like his brother and mom's.

Slowly, his thoughts crossed over to Katara and his children, if they were to ever have any. He could only imagine one. He imagined a young girl that was 14 years old. She looked just like Katara, and the same sort of lonely expression deep in her eyes as Katara always seemed to have.

He began to imagine what a child with Smellerbee would look like, but the baby boy he had imagined was so ugly, he had to stop thinking about it for fear of laughing out loud. The baby was bald, and had small brown eyes that seemed to be consumed by the large forehead the baby had. The baby had a fat nose, and small, pale red lips.

He couldn't figure out which he adored more, the family he had imagined with Jin, or the beautiful daughter with Katara. He decided to stop thinking about kids.

He tried to imagine what life would be like with Smellerbee. No matter where he imagined her, she seemed sad.

_She is meant to be with Longshot,_ he thought sadly.

He tried to imagine life with Katara. She seemed happy enough, but they never settled down in his imagination. They were travelling the world, never spending more then a week in one city. He could tell just by imagining it for a few minutes that he would not be happy travelling forever.

When he began to think of his life with Jin, if he spent it with her, he couldn't. It seemed like he just could not imagine it. As though, it would've been too unbelievable. It seemed none of the three futures seemed too happy and clear.

Suddenly, Jin snapped him from his dazed dreams with a yawn. He had been half asleep, and probably dreaming all of the things he had been imagining. "Good morning sunshine," Jet said with a laugh. She smiled. "I didn't sleep that long did I?" He shook it head. "Only a few hours." She frowned slightly. "A few hours? Is Kilo..." Jet took the hidden meaning behind the unfinished question and nodded. "She's still here," he said quietly, looking down at his empty hands. She put a hand on his cheek, turning his face back towards hers.

"It's not your fault," she whispered. Jet smiled softly. Before he could stop himself, he pressed his lips against hers. They were both sideways, and only half of his lips touched hers, but she grinned anyways.

She laid her head on his shoulder, smile dancing on her soft pink lips. They stared quietly into each others eyes, like the cliche love portrayed on stage. He kissed her once more, unable to stop himself once more. She sat up and kissed him again, the third one longer then the others.

"Jet?" She whispered.

"What?" He replied, whispering as well.

"Please, stay here with me. Don't leave after Kilo passes away."

Jet looked down at the floor without replying.

* * *

Author's Note: Well then.............

Please Review!


	15. The Last Sunrise

Jet looked at Jin, asleep on his shoulder still. He had visited Kilo several times, and they had talked for a long time every time he went in there. Although the doctors had said she had only hours, two days had passed by.

The first time he had gone into talk to Kilo, he didn't know what to say.

"Hello," she said weakly. Jet smiled softly. "Hi."

A few awkward seconds passed by. "Jet," she said quietly. "I told Longshot not to let you interfere with him and Smellerbee."

That was it. The second time Jet had walked in, they had talked for a long time.

"Good evening Jet," Kilo said with a small smile. He smiled very small in return. "Good evening, Kilo." "The doctor's have given me some very sad news." Jet frowned as she continued. "Apparently, I'm going to die today." Jet flinched at the sudden mention of her pending death, and how it was suddenly open like a cut from a razor blade. "I had some bad news for the doctor's then." Jet looked up from his glare at the floor. "I'm not ready to die." He smiled.

"You're not?" Kilo shook her head. "I have spent far too long in this place to leave now." Jet frowned. "You can't choose death, death chooses you." Kilo grinned. "Since when? I've been saving people from dying my whole life, Jet." He didn't look up. "I'm sure my parents didn't want to die, but they did. You can't chose when to be taken, you are just took." "Wisely said." He looked up at her slowly.

She smiled. "I know I am going to die." "But you just said-" "I know I'm going to die," she repeated. "Just not today."

The doctor, upon walking in, grinned. "Alright, Jet. You have to let her get some rest, scoot on out of here."

The last time Jet had gone into her room, Kilo had looked weak and exhausted. It was the second day past Kilo's expected end, but she swore she was determined to live to see the sunrise.

Jet hoped she would.

When Jet walked in, Kilo smiled. "Jet," she said. He smiled back. "How you feeling?" "Terrible," she muttered. "But I'll see the sunrise tomorrow." He nodded. "I know you will," he said honestly.

She looked at him strangely for a moment. "Jet?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you take Jethro?"

Jet stared at her blankly for a moment.

"Jethro?" He said, dumbfounded.

She nodded. "My son," she said slowly.

"Of course," Jet said quietly.

"Will you take my house? I want it to go to Jethro, but he is too young. Will you keep custody of it until he turns 16?" Jet nodded.

A doctor walked in and smiled. "Kilo?" He asked. She looked at the doctor from her spot against her pillow sitting up. "Let's see it." Jet stood to leave and allow the doctor some time to heal Kilo, but she motioned for Jet to sit back down. The doctor leaned in and whispered, as though trying not to let Jet hear. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Isn't he the one who would feel the most guilty?" Jet heard him clearly.

Kilo shook her head. "He is strong enough." Jet looked confused, until Kilo sat up and turned so he could see the back of her head.

The hair was shaved where she had hit it against the metal. There was disgusting black bruises that traced where she had hit, and dark purple spots surrounding them. The bruise disappeared into her hairline, but the worst part was in the middle of the shaved area. The bruises looked like they hurt, but the blood that stained the back of her head showed that there was an opening that would not stop bleeding.

Jet looked away, his stomach in his throat.

The doctor frowned at Jet's expression. "Do you need some water?" Jet shook his head, wiping away a single tear before it was seen by anyone else.

The doctor injected a medication into both of Kilo's wrist and one of her forearms. He said it would numb the pain until the pain was gone.

Jet knew that meant 'when she died'.

After almost 15 minutes of being prod with needles and poked into spontaneous places on her head ("Does this hurt? How about this?") the doctor left.

Kilo grinned. "I don't even feel it anymore." Jet frowned, looking out at the moon. There was a hint of light in the distance; the sunrise was nearing.

"Jet," Kilo said, her voice suddenly stronger and deeper. "Help me stand beside the window." He frowned, looking back at her. "But the doctor said-"

"I know," she said, her voice growing slightly weaker as she tried to raise it. "But the sun is rising." Her frail finger pointed to the window, where the moon was disappearing in the sky. Jet wrapped one arm beneath both of hers, supporting her all the way to the window. She leaned all of her weight onto him as she stared out the window. Her silver hair flew in frantic clumps around her face as a small smile floated onto her lips.

"The last sunrise," she whispered. The sun peaked over the trees, and a beautiful golden light filled the room in the moments before Kilo passed away. Her final moments were her happiest: the most beautiful sunrise she had ever seen. The sun seemed to mirror the smile that danced on her lips. Tears still sat inside her eyes from the sun, and her hands were still warm as everyone filed in. Jet, dazed from her sudden passing, barely noticed when Jin led him from the hospital room.

Outside, as they stepped into the sunlight that seemed to be sadder when it was not shining on Kilo, Jin sighed, tears shining on her cheeks. "Kilo," she whimpered into Jet's chest as he pulled her into a tight hug. "She was so happy," he whispered, "to not be in pain any longer."

* * *

Author's Note: :')

Please review.


	16. Farewell

The next two days flew by in silence. Smellerbee and Longshot weren't talking like they used too; Jin was spending every waking moment at the house (they had renamed it the museum; upon Kilo's death, they had begun to clean through the house. It will filled with the most random things Kilo possibly could have thought of. They had found a fake bird's egg jammed between two floorboards. Random objects were everywhere!). Jethro sat crying for hours on end in the kitchen. Every now and then, the boy would get quiet for a near hour while he ate, then he would continue crying. Jet wasn't sure if it was healthy, but he was too preoccupied and busy staring off into space to really do anything to stop the sobbing child.

On the third day after her death, the three freedom fighters, Jin, and Jethro marched like wooden soldiers down to the burial place; they were very stiff and rigid, as though afraid to walk the streets.

Longshot opened the door for the troop, the squeaking of the door seeming too loud compared to the silence. Once Jethro passed through the door into the funeral home, he burst into tears once more. Smellerbee patted his head awkwardly before sitting down in a chair beside Longshot; they didn't quite know what to do.

Back when the three freedom fighters were living in the woods fighting the fire nation, they had not had large ceremonies like this; in fact, all they did when someone died was tie them to a log and watch them float off the waterfall sadly. Then, of course, they went after revenge on the one who had killed him or her. But now, living such a different life, they were supposed to say goodbye to the body and bury it, and they were not allowed to get revenge. Who would they kill, Jet?

Jin looked around before walking up to the body. She knelt beside the casket and let a few tears fall. Jet decided to walk away and let her have her time with the dead body. In fact, Jet thought it was an extremely weird ritual to speak to someone who was already dead. He himself did not believe the people could hear him, and if they could, why would they be listening? They weren't on Earth anymore, why would they care what a confused teenage boy has to say to them?

Jin was different; she believed Kilo would always watch over them.

After a few minutes in the stuffy room, Jet realized just how many people were there. Alot of people knew Kilo. although it was a very large room, there was hardly room to walk from one end to the other.

Jethro cried in the back of the room, too afraid to look at her body.

He looked over at Jin; she was still kneeling beside the casket. Jet decided to walk up and comfort her, but as he was a few feet away, he heard her whispering. He leaned in just a little to hear her.

"Kilo," she whimpered. It made Jet want to reach out to her, but his urge to hold her was beat down by his urge to listen in. "Kilo... Thank you... If it were not for you..." She sobbed for a moment. "If it were not for you, I wouldn't be here. I know you didn't remember me. I knew it the moment I first walked in that door. It seemed like you had never met me. When I was seven, you literally brought me back to life. My breathing had stopped, but my heart was still going. You did something, but I don't know what, and it brought me back. Not even the doctors knew what you did to me. I hope that you remember now.

"I wish that you had remembered me; when I first walked in, I swore you had a flicker of remembrance in your eyes, but it dissipated real fast, like you had no idea who I was. I just wish I wasn't so forgettable.

"We are really going to miss you. Especially me." Jin cried for a moment more. "And I'm sorry I never said thank you before today." She broke down sobbing again, and Jet threw his arms around her. She leaned into him, and he hugged her tight.

After nearly a half hour of sitting at the foot of the casket, the two stood up. Jet glanced at Jethro in the back of the room. The boy was not crying anymore. In fact, he wasn't even paying attention. He was talking with several adults towards the center of the room. He did not look like he had been crying for quite a while. He looked... older. More mature.

Jet looked back at Jin and held her hand as they marched up to Longshot and Smellerbee as a few men began to carry the casket outside.

An hour later, Kilo's body lay under the ground in a casket made from wood, but her soul lay in the sky with a thousand tears fallen for her, and a thousand lives saved by her.

* * *

Author's Note: So, tell me, what should I do with Jethro now?

Please review, and tell me what you think ! ! !


	17. Into the Woods

The next morning Jet awoke to laughter in the kitchen. Jet rubbed his eyes and sat up, leaning his head against the wall. More laughter exploded from the kitchen. He felt odd inside, like a tingling in his stomach. He finally stood and marched into the kitchen.

"Morning sleepy head," Jin said as she flipped the sausage on the pan. The fire beneath it crackled loudly in the fireplace. She looked up after a moment. "Did you sleep alright?" Jet shrugged, sitting down in the chair across from Jethro. Jethro was slowly stirring a spoon around in a cup of cold tea. Jet studied him for a moment. He looked distant, like he was asleep although he was so clearly awake.

Jin hesitated. "Are you alright, Jet?" Jet nodded quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine." Jin stared at him for a long moment, trying to figure out what could possibly be so wrong that Jet could not tell her. Jet did not know how to say his stomach was tingling for no apparent reason without sounding like a whiny baby.

Finally Jin looked away to flip the sausage again. Jethro looked up from his cup of tea. "How much longer until we can eat?" Jin shrugged. "5, maybe 10 more minutes." Smellerbee drug her feet along the floor as she trekked into the kitchen, making loud squeaks against the wooden floors. "I smell food, and I want some," she said simply. Jet smiled as Longshot came in behind her, considerably more quiet than Smellerbee had.

Jin smiled up at him. "Morning Longshot." Longshot smiled down at her. "Morning," his eyes seemed to say. Jethro groaned loudly. "I want my food!" Jin used the spatula to transport the piece of meat to a plate. "Here," she finally said. Jethro jumped up to take the plate, nearly knocking Jet over in his chair.

Jet looked at the boy. He had a very good build for someone so young. When Jet finally looked away, he could see Longshot looking at him. Jet could tell in his eyes that he was thinking the same thing.

When Jethro finished chewing through the entire sausage patty, Jin handed him a piece of bread as well. Jethro inhaled that as well, but when Jin handed him a slice of watermelon, Jethro tossed it out the window after Jin turned around. She turned back around to carry the pan to the sink, and saw the entire slice was gone. "Jethro!" She said with her eyes slightly narrowed. "Did you eat all of it?" He nodded. "...Even the outside?" Jethro looked down at his hands before nodding, trying to hide his grin. Longshot just about started laughing as well. Jin rolled her eyes.

A few moments of silence passed awkwardly. "Jethro," Jet said, as though an idea suddenly popped into his head. "I just got an idea!" The boy looked up from his hands to Jet. "What?" He clearly wanted to know. Jet grinned. "I should teach you how to use a sword."

Jin immediately stepped in. "No," she said. "He is too young, and needs to stay at home." Longshot took a step towards her and put his hand on her arm. Their eyes met and they sat there for a long moment before she finally exhaled slowly. "Fine. But don't let him get hurt." Jethro stood up and smiled. "Let's go!"

Jet smirked, looking at Longshot. Longshot smiled back. Although Jet was smiling on the inside, he wondered what was up with Longshot touching Jin's arm like that. He didn't sat anything about it.

* * *

Jet finally stopped walking when they were far enough away from the town to not accidentally injure anyone. They could barely see the town in the distance, but they were close enough to see which way they had to go to get back home. Jet pulled out a sword that he knew Jethro could lift. The boy had no struggle holding up the sword.

"No," Jet said.

"What am I doing wrong? I haven't even swung it yet."

"Your fingers. You are holding the sword too tight."

"Well, I don't what to drop it."

"But you want to be able to easily swing it." Jet demonstrated with his own sword. "See?"

"I can do that." Jethro seemed to copy the move exactly.

"See?" Jet said. "You had to loosen your grip to do that, right?"

"I guess so."

"I know so."

"Whatever," Jethro said.

Jet frowned. "Anyways, we'll come down here until you got the moves down, alright?"

Jethro smirked. "I can do anything you can do, but better."

"Oh really now?"

"Yeah."

"Can you do this?" Jet lifted the sword above his head, twisted once and swung the sword out, then brought the sword down upon a rock.

The heavy stone cracked down the middle before breaking.

Jethro rolled his eyes. "Of course."

"Or this?" Jet showed Jethro another move, to which Jethro claimed he could do as well.

Jet squeezed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Maybe you should just let Longshot teach you archery for a while. I need to take a break." Jethro smiled, his teeth too large for his childish face. Longshot nodded, leading the boy further into the field, where less trees were. Four hours later, Jethro was able to hit a target. Of course, his aim was nowhere near as good as Longshot's. When the boy drew back and released, the arrow stuck in the target near the top, while Longshot's landed perfectly centered.

Jet hoped that Jethro would not ask to go out again tomorrow, but much to his dismay the next morning Jethro pleaded with Jet to take him out. Jin highly disapproved, but the boy insisted until Jet took him out. Every lesson was as unsuccessful as the first. He swore up and down he could do everything Jet could do, although he had never seen the boy do a single move with the sword.

After six days of going out into the woods with Longshot and Jethro, attempting to teach Jethro new moves, and resigning to having Longshot teach Jethro about the bow and arrow, Jet was at a loss. He lay in bed on the sixth night, wondering what he could possibly be doing wrong.

How do I teach him the sword, when he refuses to be taught?

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the delay everybody!  
Please review!


	18. About Everything

Jet awoke the next day to a smack in the arm. "JET!" cried a little voice. He groaned and rolled over onto his side. "What?" Another smack met the muscles in his arm. "STOP HITTING ME!" "THEN GET OUT OF BED!" A small hand smacked him again. Jet leaped out of bed and glared down at the culprit. Jethro smiled at him innocently. "Smellerbee and Longshot have been up for hours, so I thought it was time for you to get up."

The swordsman rolled his eyes, walked sluggishly out of the bedroom, and yawned so big that his mouth formed a perfect "O". He was greeted in the kitchen by three smiling faces. Smellerbee set down a plate of bacon and eggs for him, but Longshot took the plate before he could get to it. Jet rolled his eyes again, sitting down next to Jin. She smiled at him. "Morning sleepyhead." He replied with a croak, "Morning." Her brown eyes studied his face for a moment. "Are you feeling alright?" He shrugged. "Just tired."

She didn't seem to accept his answer as her eyes wandered over his face. He wondered if she had ever been able to tell that he did not only have feelings for her, but also for someone he could never have who lived far far away. He often times thought about Katara when Jin came around. Her personality was alot like Katara's. Their physical appearances were very different; Jin had brown or green eyes depending on the season, light, fair skin, and brown hair, while Katara had blue eyes and brown hair, and was very tan

Katara was a unique, strange type of beautiful that had always amazed him. When he looked at her, it seemed like he was looking at a painting that was always changing. Something perfect but different. She often had her hair up in loops on the sides of her head that framed her face. It didn't always obey; when she woke up in the morning, she had crazy knots throughout her whole head. He remembered the many times they would wake up in the morning and Jet would begin brushing her hair for her. She was very tender-headed, so he was always careful to brush softly. He didn't want to hurt her. He was always remembering little things about her that made him smile. He missed her.

Jin, on the other hand, was a classic type of pretty. She had brown hair that always did exactly what she wanted. Usually, she had it straight, or tied back in a ribbon. Occasionally she had it in thick curls down to her shoulders. Jet liked it best like that. She had big brown eyes that seemed to shine even inside when there was no light to make them glint. She had a beautiful voice when she sang, and when she talked it sounded like she was reading a poem.

Jin finally looked away, and Jet's thoughts drifted off to the smell of the bacon Longshot was eating. Jet reached over and snatched the bacon off the plate and stuffed it in his mouth. Longshot gave him a dissaproving look. Jet smiled, half of the bacon tumbling into his lap.

Shortly after Jet ate breakfast, Jin suggested they go for a walk in the park. "We should get some fresh air," she added with a smile. Jet could have swore he saw something behind her smile, but he couldn't be sure what it was. He agreed, and the two left the house soon after.

When they started walking the familiar trails through the woods, Jet reached over and intertwined his fingers into hers, their hands together as they walked slowly among the trees. "Jet," she said quietly, her words seeming loud against the previous silence. "What?" he replied, matching her volume. "Are you sure you're okay?" He looked down at her, deciding to sit on the bench instead of walk. He pulled her down next to him softly. "I'm sure. Why do you keep asking me?"

"I don't know," she replied. Jet knew their what something she knew behind the I don't know.

"Jin, you can tell me anything. I won't think you're weird or anything. I promise."

She looked into the woods as though contemplating his words.

"When you look at me, it's like you aren't looking at me. Like you're thinking of something else."

Jet's heart sped up.

"What do you mean?"

She looked straight into his eyes, her eyes shiny in the dim light of the forest. _If her eyes were blue, her and Katara could be sisters, _he thought.

Jin looked away. "Like that. I felt like you weren't even thinking about me."

"I was thinking about you!" _And Katara._

"Really?"

"Yes!"_ Sort of._

"Jet, I really like you."

"I like you too." _And Katara._

"Do you like me more than Katara?"

"What?" _ That's weird. I could have swore she just said-_

"Katara."

Jet's heart stopped.

"Longshot told me about her. About everything."

"What all did he tell you?" _Please don't be everything!_

_"_He told me that you and her were in love, and that you promised her you would never leave her. And about how you betrayed her. And about how you used her and the Avatar. And about the other stuff too."

Jet's stomach rose to his throat. It took everything he had in him to reply.

"What other stuff?"

Her eyes were filled with tears, and Jet felt so guilty he wanted to throw up.

"He told me about what you guys have done together. And about how you still love her." She wiped away her tears that had begun to fall.

Jet pulled her into a hug, but she pushed away, standing up.

"Jin, I love you."

"But you love her too."

He hesitated a moment too long. Before he could say another word, Jin was running up the trail again.

Jet tried to follow after her, calling her name as loud as he could.

But she was gone.

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Author's Note: Please review.


	19. Like a Dream

Jet looked into the trees for a moment. His vision began to get fuzzy as he turned on his heel and ran up the trail. He knew Jin was gone. He couldn't be sure if he had lost her forever, but eh knew he had lost her for now. "Jin!" He called out one last time. There was no voice calling back from the trees but the haunting echo of his own voice. He got chills up his spine as he listened his voice whisper back from the darkness. Everything seemed like a dream in that moment. The fading echoes, the darkening sky, the singing crickets, the cowering trees, the hooting owls. It seemed like everything around him spun.

Jin was gone.

He stepped into the little sunlight left from the setting sun and slowed to a walk. "Jin," he whispered to himself, knowing there would be no answer. The ground wiggled beneath as he struggled to walk in a straight line. The grass danced, trying to grab his feet, trying to make him fall. The dream he was living in was real, and he knew he was over reacting, but he missed Jin too much all ready to care. He began to run. When he arrived in front of the house he stopped running to catch his breath. Then something struck him.

This was Longshot's fault. He told Jin. This was his fault. Fury rose up inside of him, grabbing his throat and making it hard to breath. Everything around him seemed surreal, as though everything was happening on its own. His hand reached for the door, but he didn't notice. It was only a dream to him. The door swung open faster than he meant for it to, and it slammed against the coat rack behind it. It seemed to fall in slow motion, slamming against the wooden floor. It made a clang that seemed oddly loud. Jet looked up to see Smellerbee saying something. "Jet are you okay?" He heard her say distantly.

"Where is he?" Smellerbee's eyebrows folded in together. She looks like a drawing, Jet mused to himself. "Where is he?" He heard himself repeat. "Who, Jet?" His hand reached back and slammed the door, the loud band shaking the walls. A picture in another room shattered against the floor. He did not answer Smellerbee as his feet carried him into another room. He felt like a puppet, working at his body's will. Longshot looked up from a piece of paper that had been laying on his bed. Jet felt himself wrap his fingers around Longshot's neck and pin him against the wall.

"Why did you do it?" He heard himself scream. Longshot looked into Jet's eyes, confused. Jet drove his fist into his face, feeling Longshot's nose shatter behind his knuckles.

"What the heck is your problem?" Another punch landed against his nose, and blood splattered onto Jet's fist.

"Why did you have to ruin my life?" He felt his fist slam into Longshot's stomach. The wind knocked out of him; Jet felt his breath against his face.

"Why did you tell her?" Longshot didn't answer as another fist smashed into his nose.

"Why?" Jet screamed. Without knowing it, another hand, gentle, grabbed Jet's wrist. He turned around and shoved the body away from him. Through eyes that could hardly see, he recognized Smellerbee as her back slammed against the other wall.

"Jet!" She yelled. "What is your problem?"

"Longshot told Jin about Katara!" He screamed back, turning back to Longshot. Longshot put his hands up to protect his face. He didn't want his nose broken anymore than it already was. Jet wrapped his hands around his neck and dug his thumbs into Longshot's neck.

"Why did you do it?" Smellerbee pulled Jet back, and he didn't push her.

"She had a right to know."

"You had no right to tell her!" He cried, ripping his arms from from Smellerbee's grasp. He didn't touch Longshot, but got in his face as he continued to scream. "I loved her, Longshot. What she didn't know couldn't hurt her. I'll never see Katara again, and so I was moving on. And you screwed it up! And managed to ruin my life!" He reached back to slam his fist into his face again, but Smellerbee pounced on him and pinned him to the floor.

"Jet!" She yelled as he struggled beneath her. She bit his shoulder.

"What the-"

She bit him again. "Stop it! Right now! You are a seventeen year old boy acting like your seven. If you really love her you would have went straight to her house instead of coming here to beat the heck out of your best friend."

"He isn't my best friend, he-"

She bit into his shoulder harder. "You've said what you wanted to say," she said, "Now shut up and listen to me. Jin had a right to know. Sure, Longshot should not have said anything, but you should have. You should have told her that you were having trouble getting over Katara. Instead, you obsessed over how much you missed Katara while you had the perfect girl right in front of you. She loved you, Jet. And you just led her on. She isn't Katara. We told you that you had to get over Katara or stop leading Jin on, and you didn't listen to us. You can blame Longshot as much as you want, but all four of us know that this was all your fault. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be in this situation right now."

Jet lay still. He knew what she said was true. He couldn't admit it. He was too proud. Jet was their leader, why had she turned against him? He lay still, thinking to himself. The more he thought, the more he realized that it had been him who had turned against them. He had left them when he fell for Katara. He left them when he went after Zuko. He left them when he met Jin. And when Jin left him, he turned against his only friends and broke his best friend's nose.

Jet was a traitor. A cold blooded traitor.

Smellerbee stared down at him as his eyes softened up. He looked like he had just woken up. She studied his face and decided that it was safe to let him go. She rolled off and stood up, staring at him as he slowly stood up.

"Jet," she began. "Do the right thing."

He stood there for a few seconds before walking slowly from the house. Jethro poked his head into the room. He ran up and wrapped himself around her leg, shaking in fear. Smellerbee looked up at Longshot, who was leaving the room at the sound of the front door slamming shut.

Smellerbee lifted Jethro up to hold him before she followed him into the Kitchen. She watched Longshot wipe the blood from his face , but more came gushing out to replace what had just been wiped. He held his nose closed and tilted it upward to help stop the bleeding.

"Why did you do it?" Smellerbee asked. Longshot looked at her from over the rag.

"Can I tell you a story?"

* * *

Author's Note: Please review.

Btw, I'm not sure why the stuff that is under this keeps appearing. I can't make it go away.

413A047E-4050-9D3A-5C52-A130C3683A39

1.03.01


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